British Land to keep its stake in Meadowhall
BRITISH Land has shelved plans to sell part of its stake in the Meadowhall shopping mall in Sheffield, opting instead to retain its full 50 per cent because of the centre’s strong performance over the past year.
British Land had put the holding up for sale to capitalise on strong demand for shopping mall assets, but has instead opted to form an equal partnership with Norway’s sovereign wealth fund which is buying half of the centre.
British Land co-owns the 1.4m sq foot mall with property company London & Stamford and had put a 25 per cent share up for sale alongside the latter’s quest for a buyer.
Norway’s £376bn sovereign wealth fund, the world’s second-largest after the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, is in exclusive talks to buy London & Stamford’s entire 50 per cent stake for about £750m. This would be the Norwegian group’s second UK property investment since it invested £448m into London’s Regent Street in 2010.