St James’s House sold to Tesco Pension Fund

Posted on 16 June, 2015 by Kirsten Kennedy

The Crown Estate is one of the UK’s largest and most influential commercial property players, with assets throughout the country combining into a portfolio worth over £2 billion.

St James House sold to Tesco Pension Fund

However, the firm recently made the decision to rebalance this portfolio as a means of capitalising upon the strong asset management opportunities currently flooding the market – a decision which this week led to the sale of St James’s House in Manchester to the Tesco Pension Fund for an undisclosed sum.

Although the 66,000 square foot office block and ground floor row of retail units have been under the ownership of the Crown Estate since 1995, the firm’s heightening desire to add larger retail developments to its portfolio meant that a sale was most certainly on the cards this year. In part, this is due to the long term goals of the Crown Estate, but also because of the growing demand for good quality office space in central Manchester by international funds and developers.

Head of the Crown Estate’s regional portfolio, Hannah Milne, believes that the sale of St James’s House represents an excellent deal under current market conditions.
She says; “The sale represents a good example of our wider investment strategy, which involves generating working capital for reinvestment across our core sectors by divesting from non-core assets.

“Regionally, our focus continues to be on dominant retail and leisure schemes, which includes our portfolio of prime shopping parks, as well as our interests in shopping centres in Exeter, Oxford and Worcester.”

Another reason for the timing of the sale relates to the way in which it funds its investments, as it is not eligible to borrow money and so relies upon entering into strategic joint ventures or recycling all capital generated by the sale of non-core assets. As the sectors deemed “core” include popular regional retail schemes, offshore wind opportunities, rural land and investment opportunities in the West End of central London, the proceeds from this sale will undoubtedly help in funding further acquisitions in the future.

Do you think the sale of St James’s House was well timed, or would the Crown Estate have benefited more from a sale further down the line?




Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


Recent Posts

Interest Rates Impact on Commercial Property

Commercial Property Investment Outlook for 2023

The best places to stay on the Riviera

The latest property data has identified Newquay as the fastest property seller’s market in the UK

Investing in your garden can increase your property’s value

French Riviera temping high-end homebuyers

How can the ownership rights of my commercial property impact a business sale?

Should I incorporate virtual property viewings permanently?

Investment expected to increase across Asia-Pacific in 2021

UK property industry slows as the conclusion of tax break looms

BNP Paribas cautioned investors on Friday as debt-trading bonanza that increased its earnings this past year

Over 300,000 property purchases fell through in 2020 – we show the most frequent motives and the best way to get your house sale back on track

House Prices in the Capital Surpass £500,000

Optimism from the Bank of England’s chief economist

The most expensive commercial properties.

Businesses operating from shared premises will miss out on grants