The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the investment management organisation that invests Canada's national pension fund assets, has ploughed over £275m into UK retail property. The fund emerged as Henderson Global Investors' partner in the £253m purchase of the Whitefriars Quarter shopping centre in Canterbury from Land Securities.
And at the same time the fund has invested £150m in Henderson's UK Shopping Centre Fund, which already holds interests in four dominant shopping centres in major UK cities including the Bullring in Birmingham, Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow and Princes Quay in Hull.
The 600,000-sq ft Whitefriars Quarter consists of three elements: the Clocktower, which was redeveloped in the early 1990s; Whitefriars, which was completed in 2005; and the refurbished Marlowe Arcade, which was completed in March 2007. The sale price reflects a 4.1 per cent initial yield and a 4.7 per cent equivalent yield.
Graeme Eadie, senior vice-president of real estate investments at the CPP Investment Board, said: "Investing in Whitefriars and Henderson's UK Shopping Centre Fund provides a logical expansion of our UK retail strategy, which is to generate strong long-term returns by acquiring interests in quality properties alongside knowledgeable partners. With this transaction we have added significantly to our portfolio of UK retail assets."
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