M&G sells retail park to warehousing firm

M&G Investments has sold the Ravenside retail park in Edmonton, North London to industrial property developer Prologis for £51.4 million, in a move indicative of the ongoing shift towards e-commerce.

The deal, finalised shortly before Christmas, will turn the shopping centre into a warehousing park, as Prologis head of UK capital deployment Robin Woodbridge explained.

“The UK retail market is changing, as more and more people order goods online, because of this, our customers - who include household retail names such as Amazon, Argos and John Lewis - need logistics facilities close to where people live and work, so they can fulfil deliveries of goods ordered online efficiently.”

He continued that as a retail warehouse park, Ravenside was of the right size and location to meet these criteria. It comprises seven retail units totalling 128,507 square feet, with Argos, Carpetright, Mothercare, Wren, Tapi Carpets and Wickes currently occupying all but one unit.

“Currently a successful retail park, it will continue to operate as such for the foreseeable future, with potential redevelopment to industrial logistics in the medium to long term,” read a statement.

Sites which sell directly to consumers, such as those on the high street and in retail parks, are subject to higher business rates than warehouses, which store and organise goods for delivery.

The sale follows the news late last year that M&G, which owns numerous retail parks across the UK, was suspending the dealing of shares in its £2.5 billion property fund after “unusually high and sustained outflows” during a period “where continued Brexit-related political uncertainty and ongoing structural shifts in the UK retail sector made it difficult to commercial property”.

On 2 January, M&G gave an update stating that the temporary suspension would continue until further notice. Since the end of November, the fund has exchanged or completed on £70.4 million of assets and a further £67.2 million is either under offer or in solicitors’ hands.

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