Two large shopping centres in Lancashire that collapsed into administration more than a year ago are being readied for sale.
KPMG, administrator to Modus Corovest, is seeking to sell the 400,000 sq?ft Houndshill shopping centre in Blackpool – almost two years after Manchester-based Modus collapsed.
Agents are now pitching to handle the sales instruction for the Debenhams-anchored mall, which sources said could fetch around £100m – a yield of around 7.5%.
Investors had hoped that KPMG and Modus’s main lender, Anglo Irish Bank, would have considered a sale of Houndshill immediately after the administration. However, they instead opted to appoint an asset manager to enhance the value of the mall. Delancey-backed urban regeneration specialist Centros took up the role last February.
The centre is likely to attract interest from REITs including Land Securities and British Land and private investors.
Elsewhere in the region, administrator Deloitte is taking advice on what to do with The Rock in Bury. The 1.6m sq?ft mall was part of Thornfield Ventures, which was placed into administration in January 2010 and has since been asset-managed by Hammerson.
However, Deloitte is now seeking agents to advise on a strategy for the asset, which could lead to a circa £100m sale.
Modus and Thornfield Ventures both fell victim to the credit crunch after building up large regional shopping centre development pipelines during the preceding boom.
Annabel.Dixon@estatesgazette.com
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