The JV, to be called NewRiver Retail Investments, is a closed end Guernsey-registered limited partnership, and will invest over the next two years. It plans to hold its investments for five years.

It says it “will target UK retail property assets with the objective of delivering added value and above average returns through asset management and risk controlled development and refurbishment.”

The first acquisition is a large UK retail portfolio, bought from the UBS Triton Property Fund for £49m to show a net initial yield of 9 per cent. It consists of nine large retail assets totalling more than 400,000 sq ft and let to more than 100 tenants.

Importantly, nearly 90 per cent of the portfolio’s rental income is secured by strong national and regional retailers predominantly operating in food and value retailing, the two strongest performing retail sectors.

The portfolio includes the 103,250-sq ft Packhorse shopping centre in Huddersfield and the 84,500-sq ft Albert Square shopping centre in Widnes. Other high street properties are in Andover, Canterbury, East Ham, Glasgow, Norwich, Shrewsbury and Wreham.

David Lockhart, chief executive of NewRiver Capital, said: “Having MSREI on board not only endorses our focused sector specific business strategy and investment case but also validates our view that our opportunistic approach to acquisition and active asset management is the best route to value generation at this point of the commercial property and economic cycle. The acquisition of the UBS Triton retail portfolio fits exactly with the strategy.”

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