The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the United Kingdom’s Henderson Global Investors(HGI)have signed a deal to buy a shopping centre in Canterbury, Kent for $541.6 million.
HGI’s Henderson U.K. Shopping Centre Fund and the board have formed a 50/50 joint venture to purchase the Whitefriars Quarter shopping centre, which comprises 600,000 square feet of retail space in the cathedral city’s centre.
In addition to funding its 50% interest in the Whitefriars joint venture, the CPPIB has invested $321.1 million in Henderson’s U.K. Shopping Centre Fund, which already holds interests in four shopping centres in major cities across the United Kingdom.
“Investing in Whitefriars and Henderson’s U.K. Shopping Centre Fund provides a logical expansion of our U.K. retail strategy, which is to generate strong long-term returns by acquiring interests in quality properties alongside knowledgeable partners,” explains Graeme Eadie, the board’s senior vice-president of real estate investments. “With this transaction we have added significantly to our portfolio of U.K. retail assets.”
To comment on this story email craig.sebastiano@rci.rogers.com.