CBRE has bought leading UK retail asset manager Sovereign Centros, a standout acquisition as the brokerage world increasingly looks to strengthen its expertise in this area.
CBRE said the acquisition will improve its asset management and development management capability, particularly within retail, expanding client relationships and growing its expertise across sectors.
Sovereign Centros focuses on shopping centres and retail parks, leisure and mixed-use properties, with nearly 14 million square feet under management. It works with a wide range of global capital, banking and financial institutions and leading pension funds.
Key projects include asset management of The Metrocentre in Gateshead, Festival Place in Basingstoke, Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Dudley, the Telford Centre in Telford and the St Enoch Shopping Centre in Glasgow.
Its team of 30 professionals will join CBRE’s existing asset management and development management teams, which will be led by Chris Geaves, chief executive of Sovereign Centros.
Ciaran Bird, divisional president, CBRE advisory services and CEO, UK & Ireland, said in a statement: “The acquisition of Sovereign Centros is an important part of our strategy to grow our capabilities at pace and secure the strongest talent within asset and development management. This acquisition will ensure we are able to offer an even better service to more clients and allow us to capitalise on the growth opportunities offered by the sector.”
Geaves added: “We are excited to join forces with CBRE and know that our combined experience and extensive network will be extremely powerful. Investors are increasingly looking to outsource due to the challenging environment, so it presents the team with a huge opportunity.”
Sovereign Centros' history dates back to 1987. It was eventually formed in 2012 when Geaves's retail developer Sovereign Land bought a majority stake in Centros from Delancey to bolster its development and asset management capabilities.
Partners include Blackstone, Cerberus, Wells Fargo, M&G, Morgan Stanley, Helaba Bank, AXA, Delancey and Orion Capital Partners, Tesco and Frasers.
It has been involved at the some of the UK's largest schemes such as the Metrocentre in Gateshead, where it was enlisted after the collapse of owner Intu, and Merry Hill in Dudley.
There has been expectation that the major brokerages would seek to improve their retail asset management capabilities, potentially via acquisition. Companies including Sovereign Centros, Ellandi and Pradera have taken on major roles asset-managing shopping centres and town centre developments during the retail downturn, particularly during COVID and the collapse of Intu.
CBRE posted downbeat results last Friday for the third quarter, impacted by the ongoing global fall in real estate transactional activity. But it remains in busy acquisition mode with its Trammell Crow business buying UK office developer Candour.
Last year CBRE signalled its commitment to the UK retail sector with its acquisition of leading adviser CWM.