Newport Matalan store sold in £6.6m retail park deal

Both the Matalan store, and the Robins & Day Peugeot dealership at Newport Retail Park have changed hands in recent days, as part of a major acquisition.

The two retailers, along with 2.47 acres of development land in between the Matalan store and Peugeot garage, have been included in the deal.

It has been confirmed that Glenbrook Investments has completed the acquisition of the site from Regional REIT, achieving a net initial yield of 7.5 per cent.

The deal is said to have cost Glenbrook Investments £6.6 million in total.

All told, for their money the firm has acquired a 7.5 acre site off Seven Stiles Avenue, which consists of the 41,000 square foot Matalan store, the 15 square foot car showroom, associated car parking space, and the currently unused development land.

While the empty land could be developed down the line, it is not thought that this acquisition will see any short term changes to the day-to-day running of Matalan.

There is some suggestion that the move could see the Peugeot showroom expanded in the future.

What has been said about the deal?

The deal to take over the section of Newport Retail Park is not Glenbrook Investments’ first big move of the year.

Over the last 12 months, Glenbrook has completed £74 million worth of investment transactions.

This includes two major disposals – the £4.625 million disposal of Eastgate Retail Park in Lancashire to Threadneedle and the £11.4 million Valley Road Industrial Estate in Merseyside to Schroders.

Chris Lloyd, investment director at Glenbrook said: “This is an exciting opportunity to expand the Peugeot car showroom and speculatively develop a trade counter or last mile logistics scheme.

“Newport has really benefitted from some fantastic infrastructure investment that will support both residential and commercial development over the next five years.”

The car dealership, with Matalan in the distance - along with land included in the sale in-between

Justin Millett, lead director at JLL Cardiff, which advised Glenbrook, said: “The property is strategically located adjacent to a regionally dominant shopping park and the major Glan Llyn mixed use regeneration scheme and there is a significant opportunity to add value to the asset through repositioning and proactive asset management.

“JLL already has an existing relationship with Glenbrook in the North West and we are pleased to have helped them to grow their footprint into South Wales.”