Melford Capital snaps up Stoke retail park in £22.5m deal
Clearbell has disposed of the fully-let Octagon Retail Park, eight years after it originally bought the site.
The 138,000 sq ft park comprises nine stores and is fully let to a mix of household names including DFS, Sofology, Oak Furnitureland, Wren Kitchens, NCF and Grosvenor Casino.
The site is around half a mile from the centre of Hanley.
Clearbell acquired Octagon for £28m in 2018, before embarking on a programme of active asset management focused on strengthening the park’s income profit and creating long-term value.
The group says the sale of the site marks the successful delivery of its business plan for Octagon, following a period of management that has strengthened its tenant profile, including recent lease regears with Wren Kitchens, Oak Furnitureland and Sofology, which secured longer-term commitments from occupiers and agreeing improved rental terms across the scheme.
Toby Saul, Investment Director at Clearbell Capital, said: “Since acquisition, we’ve focused on strengthening the underlying income and working proactively with occupiers to extend commitments to the park.
“We saw an opportunity to build on Octagon’s established position in furniture and bulky homewares, where physical stores remain particularly important to the customer journey. Retail warehousing has been a resilient part of the retail market in the face of growing competition from online channels. That has given the park a clear point of difference and supported its resilience as retail habits have continued to evolve.
“The recent regears are testament to the strength of the location and the quality of the occupier base, while putting the asset in a strong position for its next phase of ownership. The sale to Melford Capital represents the successful delivery of our business plan and a positive outcome following the work we’ve done to strengthen the asset.”
Clearbell was advised by KLM Real Estate and Melford Capital by Park Place Retail.
