NorthernInvestments: In what is the largest property investment deal in Northern Ireland this year, SVM Properties has paid £34.76 million (€50.581 million) for Damolly Retail Park on the Newry bypass in Co Down.
Osborne King & Megran and Savills acted for the purchaser.
The 13,935sq m (150,000sq ft) premises were sold by London-based Orchard Street Investment Management on behalf of a UK pension fund client in an off-market deal at a net initial yield of 4.95 per cent.
The line-up of tenants includes B & Q, MFI, Lane of Leather and Currys.
This is the latest addition to SVM Properties' portfolio of retail schemes which includes Shane Retail Park on Belfast's Boucher Road and Fairhill Shopping Centre and Braidwater Retail Park in Ballymena.
According to David Burrows of Osborne King & Megran, opportunities to acquire prime retail warehousing of this size and calibre that are located strategically on the Belfast-Dublin economic corridor are few and far between.
He claimed Damolly Retail Park was the dominant retail park in Newry and benefited from a significant catchment area extending into the Republic.
The facility, he said, had a low base rental that offered significant room for growth and enjoyed a high conversion rate from visitors to shoppers.
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