Frasers Adds Over 1M SF To Retail Real Estate In Latest Shopping Spree
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has made three new real estate purchases for a total of more than £100M as his empire of retailers selling merchandise spanning fashion to sports equipment ramps up its UK property acquisitions.
The multibrand retail group has already acquired a string of shopping destinations and has confirmed that it has now also completed the purchases of Princesshay Shopping Centre in Exeter, Fremlin Walk Shopping Centre in Maidstone and The Olympus Centre retail park in Quedgeley, Gloucester.
In September, Frasers Group bought the 160K SF St Nicholas Arcade in Lancaster's city centre, adding to a property portfolio that includes the recently acquired 770K SF Frenchgate shopping centre in Doncaster; the Overgate Centre in Dundee, for which it paid £30M in March 2023; Yorkshire outlet centre Junction 32, which it paid £50M for last November; and The Mall Luton, which it bought for £58M last March and is rebranding as Luton Point.
The largest of the trio of its latest retail acquisitions is the 600K SF Princesshay Shopping Centre in Exeter city centre, where co-owners Nuveen and The Crown Estate were understood to be looking for an estimated £80M for the mall. It hosts more than 60 retailers, and Frasers said that the deal will enable the group to enhance the shopping and leisure offer within Exeter city centre by introducing “elevated retail formats and improving the current tenant mix in Princesshay.”
The 350K SF Fremlin Walk Shopping Centre had a guide asking price of around £25M and is located in the centre of Maidstone. It is undergoing extensive refurbishment ahead of the opening of a 70K SF Frasers flagship store, which will become the new anchor, featuring brands from the retail group including Sports Direct, USC, Evans Cycles, Game and Jack Wills. A 5K SF Flannels store, Frasers’ upmarket department store format, is also set to open this month.
The 65K SF Olympus Centre is a fully let retail park in the Quedgeley area of Gloucester. Frasers described the centre, previously owned by Royal London Asset Management, as having “good access to a thriving local catchment population and strong fundamentals as a retail destination.”
With an annual footfall of almost 17 million visitors across the three centres, Frasers said in its release that the acquisitions reinforce its focus on expanding the group’s real estate portfolio by investing in high-potential retail properties.
“The acquisition of Princesshay, Fremlin Walk and The Olympus Centre reinforces our commitment to investing in physical retail. Securing properties which serve as the primary retail destination for the community remains a top priority for us,” Frasers Group CEO Michael Murray said in a statement.
“Such acquisitions unlock new growth opportunities for our retail concepts, while revitalising high streets and physical shopping locations up and down the country.”
CBRE advised Frasers Group on the acquisitions.
