Royal London Asset Management's £70.1 million purchase of Monks Cross Shopping Park in York has won Sale of the Year for Yorkshire and Humberside after an independent panel of industry professionals recognised the group's ability to navigate several challenges with the transaction.
Monks Cross, a CoStar Impact Award winner, is a circa 275,000 square retail warehousing park comprising 35 units and was acquired by RLAM at a 7.5% net initial yield. It is anchored by major retailers like Primark, B&M, Boots, TK Maxx, JD Sports, Waterstones, and Sports Direct.
Those close to the deal, which was announced in February, said it was significant because it set a major benchmark for out-of-town retail park transactions in the region, while it was also one of the largest retail park transactions to complete over the last 12 months.
The reflects strong investor sentiment towards high-performing retail warehousing, they added, with RLAM itself carrying out a significant expansion into dominant regional retail locations recently.
Over the past 18 months, the property developer-investor has completed a £142 million transaction to buy a 50% stake in centre:mk, Milton Keynes’ primary shopping centre, from AustralianSuper, a story first tipped by CoStar News in March 2024.
About the project: In addition to securing one of the UK's largest retail warehousing destinations, the RLAM deal was celebrated for the way it navigated a complex ownership picture at Monks Cross to conclude a major regional deal.
The asset was controlled by a consortium including Chinese state-owned Gingko Tree, Legal & General, Schroders, and USS. The panel explained this meant coordinated negotiation was required before the sale, creating atypical complexity for a retail park of this scale.
The buyer carried out the purchase despite a volatile retail capital markets environment, while the price secured was close to the guide of circa £70 million, which the purchasing team said reflected strong demand for rebased lent, low capex retail parks.
RLAM secured the property, a mile from York's outer ring road, the A1237 and A64, despite interest from multiple, high-profile prospective buyers, the team said.
What the judges said: Adam Varley, development director, at Scarborough Group International, said: "In an uncertain market, the sale of Monks Cross to RL Asset Management provides a clear signal of investor conviction in the region’s property fundamentals, particularly within the retail sector. While aligning the objectives of multiple stakeholders is inherently complex, this transaction demonstrates the tangible value created through proactive asset management."
They made it happen: Jamie Naughton, partner – investment, Dom Barnard, associate partner – investment, and Flora Nash, surveyor at Edgerley Simpson Howe, represented the landlord.