BL and Aviva agree Macclesfield JS deal

British Land has sold a Sainsbury’s superstore in Macclesfield, Cheshire, to Aviva Investors for its Lime Property Fund for £36m. The 73,500sq ft superstore deal represents a net initial yield of 4.4 percent.

The property is leased to Sainsbury’s for 28.5 years at a passing rent of £22.90 a sq ft with annual retail price index- linked increases capped at 4 percent a year with a minimum increase of two percent annually.

Charles Maudsley, British Land’s head of retail, said: “We are delighted to have agreed the sale of Sainsbury’s Macclesfield superstore at a value which reflects the significant yield compression in this sector over the last year”. He said the store was the dominant grocery outlet in the town, had an affluent catchment area and it would provide Aviva Investors with “a long-term, high quality secure and growing income stream”.

The company has also entered into an agreement with The Portman Estate to purchase and redevelop Marble Arch House, in the West End of London. The new development will deliver offices and shops to the area. Demolition and ground works are expected to start in mid-2011 with completion scheduled for mid-2013.