Frasers, the retail owner of brands including Sports Direct and Flannels, is in talks to buy two more major UK outlet centres for circa £400 million, CoStar News can reveal.
The group, which has been one of the leading investors buying shopping centres, retail parks and outlet centres in recent years, is set to buy the McArthur Glen-managed developments in York and East Midlands from Aviva Investors.
York Designer Outlet is a 350,000-square-foot centre with tenants including M&S, H&M, Nike and Paul Smith.
East Midlands Designer Outlet is a 230,747-square-foot designer outlet centre on Normanton Road in the East Midlands that was built in 2002 and is owned and managed by McArthur Glen. It is home to more than 65 designer brands.
Frasers completed the acquisition of Swindon Designer Outlet, also managed by McArthur Glen, in December in a major transaction revealed by CoStar News in October.
That acquisition was understood to have closed for around £144.5 million and a yield in excess of 9%, and topped a massive year of investment in retail bricks and mortar by the group.
At the time, the group said it marked a "meaningful step towards achieving the group’s vision of building the planet’s most admired and compelling brand ecosystem".
It added that through acquisitions of strategic physical retail locations like Swindon, it supports key brand partners’ outlet strategies – including Nike, Adidas and Boss – and aims to serve consumers across the UK with the best value and product offerings.
Frasers Group started as a small store in Maidenhead in 1982. As the business evolved, 2019 saw the rebrand of retail tycoon Mike Ashley's Sports Direct International to Frasers Group.
CBRE is advising Frasers, while Morgan Williams is advising Aviva.
All parties declined to comment.