M Core has acquired Ocean Plaza retail park in Southport for an undisclosed price. The 95,107 sq ft park, which was bought from an unnamed vendor in an off-market deal, is anchored by Dunelm, Matalan, Pets at Home and Pizza Hut.
Adjacent to the park is a 117,165 sq ft leisure park with an eight-screen Vue cinema, health and fitness centre and a 20-lane tenpin bowling alley.
James Buchanan, managing director of the LCP Group, which is part of M Core, said: “We’ve long demonstrated an appetite for investing in retail parades and centres throughout the UK, and this is not abating. Not only are these superb investments, acquisitions such as Ocean Plaza also provide us with a good opportunity to add value.
“We have a healthy pipeline of acquisitions coming down the line, which will only add to our growing reputation as one of the most acquisitive businesses when it comes to investing in commercial property. It’s a strategy that has served us well for the past five years and we are sufficiently flexible to be able to adapt quickly to the challenges many occupiers and organisations are facing.”
Barry Flint, LCP director, added: “Our experienced intensive asset management teams understand the market and our local teams have an in-depth knowledge of the communities they work in. Together, this means we can target the right kinds of tenants, whether they are high street names or independent traders, to the right place for them.
“It’s a strategy that works and it’s why we have a black book of contacts, waiting to locate to our centres. We recognise there’s a great deal of potential to add value in the leisure part of the park and we look forward to announcing new tenants soon.”
The solicitor for M Core was Osborne Clarke and the agent was Lewis Ellis. The agent for the vendor was Morgan Williams.
