A pension fund has sold a Scottish retail park anchored by a huge revamped home improvement store to a private investor.

Real estate advisor CBRE said it has completed the sale of Dumfries Retail Park on behalf of a local government pension fund for £11 million.

It was purchased by a London-based private investor, represented by Archer Property Consultants.

Sited on the edge of the town centre in the out-of-town retail cluster, Dumfries Retail Park occupies a highly visible position on the Kilmarnock roundabout at the junction of the A75 Dumfries bypass.

The scheme, which covers to 85,752 sq ft and sits on a site of 7.55 acres, is anchored by a recently re-geared 28,050 sq ft Wickes store. The remainder of the park is occupied by tenants including Home Bargains, Currys, Carpetright and Greggs.

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Martyn Brown, director at CBRE, said: “We’re pleased to announce the sale of this high-profile retail park in Dumfries. With a strong tenant mix and a prime location, including the potential to take advantage of multiple asset management opportunities, the sale attracted strong interest from a range of UK-wide investors.”

Derek Archer, of Archer Property Consultants, who represented the purchaser, said: “We’re very pleased to complete this purchase on behalf of our private client.

"The retail park will provide our client with a good medium to long-term core income, secured to an excellent tenant line-up and let off sensible and sustainable rents.

"There is also the opportunity to enhance the tenant roster via the letting of the remaining vacant space and potential to add a further pod cluster or single unit.”


Former school on Scottish island up for sale

A FORMER secondary school on the island of Yell in Shetland, with planning permission for conversion into a café, hotel and flats, has been put up for auction with a guide price of £199,000-plus.

Auction House Scotland, which is conducting the sale, said one-third of the plan was already complete, with the part of the property which housed the arts department already converted into a café equipped with a “large industrial kitchen”.


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Aberdeen social enterprise Glencraft bolsters its board

GLENCRAFT, the Aberdeen-based social enterprise, has strengthened its board to help deliver its development plans.

The luxury mattress manufacturer, which has been providing employment opportunities for blind, partially blind, and disabled people for more than 180 years, has appointed Laura Bruce and Allan Clow as non-executive directors.