Canadian investor ups stake in Bullring, now equal owner with Hammerson

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
May 5, 2022

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is to increase its stake in Birmingham’s giant Bullring mall to 50%, equally sharing ownership with UK property giant Hammerson.

Canada’s biggest pension fund, which already owned a 16.7% share in the mall, is buying the additional stake from global property giant Nuveen Real Estate for around £170 million. That values the Bullring at £510 million, down 45% from the £921 million valuation in 2013.
 
Graeme Eadie, senior vice-president and head of real estate investments, CPPIB, told the West Midlands BusinessDesk: “This transaction provides CPPIB with further scale and opportunity in Bullring and is in line with our UK retail strategy of investing in high quality assets in major locations with strong growth potential.

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“We are pleased to expand our relationship with Hammerson, one of Europe’s leading retail property companies, whom we know well having worked together successfully on other investments.”
 
Hammerson will continue to have overall responsibility for asset management and development for the centre with its CEO David Atkins adding: “This is an excellent opportunity to enhance our position in one of the UK’s strongest shopping destinations at an attractive entry price.
 
“Bullring is an iconic centre which has performed extremely well since opening in 2003, and I am confident in the continued future success of Bullring as consumer demand for venues which offer exceptional experiences continues to rise.”
 
The 19-year-old shopping centre, which is anchored by Selfridges, will see M&S also move into the prime 67,000 sq ft former Debenhams store site which closed last May.
 
Along with Hammerson, CPPIB owns the Grand Central mall next to the Bullring. CPPIB also owns the Trafford Centre in Manchester, in addition to a 25% stake in Westfield Stratford in east London.