Two of the largest retail parks in Northern Ireland have been sold in a double deal worth over £40m.
Junction One and The OUTLET, collectively known as Project Copeland, together cover 95 acres and offer nearly 600,000 sq ft of retail space. The two were acquired by Tristan Capital Partners and The Lotus Group.
“Our acquisition of both retail parks demonstrates our confidence in the market in Northern Ireland,” said Director of Asset and Property Management at The Lotus Group, Alastair Coulson.
“This is one of the largest retail deals to take place in the region this year and we are excited to play a central role. Now that The OUTLET and Junction One are both under single ownership there is a significant opportunity for us to enhance and differentiate the sites.
There will be a period of substantial investment to reinvigorate the schemes.”
The OUTLET, on the outskirts of Banbridge, houses the likes of M&S, Next, Nike and GAP, and is just an hour‘s drive from a catchment population of over 1.1m. Work has begun to enhance the park‘s leisure and food & beverage offerings through the construction of a McDonald‘s restaurant as well as an Omniplex eight screen cinema.
Junction One is located in Antrim, and houses outlets from chains such as LIDL, Homebase and B&M Bargains.
“This deal represents a unique opportunity to bring together two outlet centres currently under separate ownership for the first time,” said Pete Mather, Managing Director at Tristan Capital Partners.
“The next step will be to enhance, differentiate and diversify both sites by investing significantly and working with specialist asset management partners in Northern Ireland and London.”
Coulson added that The OUTLET would be steered towards a mid-premium demographic, and Junction One towards a mid-value convenience market.
