Ingka Centres has acquired the freehold of Churchill Square shopping centre in Brighton for an estimated £145m.
Ingka Centres, part of the Ingka Group, which also includes IKEA Retail, intends to open a new IKEA City store on the site of the former Debenhams unit.
The company has also acquired Chartwell Court – a residential tower block on the site – two attached car parks and the leasehold of a third car park.
Ingka Centres said it intends to invest in the centre’s infrastructure and will improve the energy efficiency of Churchill Square, bringing the asset up to a BREEAM Excellent rating.
Cindy Andersen, Ingka Centres’ managing director, said: “Brighton is known as a welcoming and progressive city, so it is a real privilege to take up responsibility for delivering a revitalised meeting place of which the many people can be truly proud. We are excited to strengthen our portfolio with a well-established shopping destination in the heart of the vibrant and growing city of Brighton and Hove. It fits perfectly into our global expansion strategy, allowing us to transform a traditional retail space to a meeting place that is much more than just a place to shop.”
Peter Jelkeby, country retail manager and chief sustainability officer at IKEA UK and Ireland, added: “We continue to transform as we respond to our customers’ needs and dreams, today and tomorrow. As one of the most innovative and exciting markets in the world for retail and e-commerce, we will step up our omnichannel investments, both in Brighton and the rest of the country, with a simple goal: to become more customer centric, so that people can shop with us for a better, more sustainable life at home, whenever, wherever and however they choose.”
In early 2020, Ingka Centres acquired the Kings Mall shopping centre in Hammersmith, London, from Schroder UK Real Estate Fund.
