A seven-week-old property investment company has clinched its first deal with the £22m freehold purchase of Lancaster’s Market Gate Shopping Centre.
Launched in August by businessman Chris Beckerman, the Roubaix Group secured the purchase in an off-market transaction with Allied (Lancaster) Ltd. The Monaco-registered company received financial support for the deal from Chenavari Investment Managers.
Among the 30 tenants at the 135,000 sq ft retail complex are New Look, WH Smith, Waterstones, Caffe Nero and Morrisons.
This summer Primark agreed to open a 50,000 sq ft store at the centre. “Its forthcoming arrival will be transformational for Market Gate and provides a springboard for further improvements to the centre that will release untapped value,” said Beckerman.
“Our purchase of Market Gate is the first of a string of proposed purchases Roubaix Group has in the pipeline and, with the substantial cash reserves at our disposal, we are targeting over £100m of additional acquisitions by the end of next year,” he added.
A qualified chartered surveyor, Beckerman has over 20 years’ experience in the field of investment, development and management of commercial property, particularly within the retail and shopping centre sector.
“We are delighted to support Chris and the Roubaix Group with their first acquisition,” said Andrew Haines, a partner at Chenavari Investment Managers. “Chris has a fantastic track record and Lancaster’s Market Gate is the ideal asset with which to start building his portfolio.”
The sale of the retail site came just 12 days after Allied Lancaster announced a multi-million pound revamp for Market Gate that would have involved a prominent new store frontage for the budget clothing retailer — set to occupy the old market hall — and the realignment of two internal walkways.
In mid-September, Allied’s chief executive officer David Goodman said: “I am proud and convinced that this exciting and new 50,000 sq ft store will dramatically improve Lancaster’s retail landscape as well as substantially increasing the footfall and spend within the city centre.
“Lancaster will additionally benefit through the creation of new full and part-time employment opportunities,” he added. Work on the upgrade was expected to start within days.
