Montagu Evans appointed to manage shopping centres in Shrewsbury and Banbury.
In Shrewsbury, the Charles Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside shopping centres – a total of around 428,400 sq ft of retail and leisure space in total – have been acquired by Shropshire Council from the UK Commercial Property Trust, advised by Standard Life Investments.
Castle Quay in Banbury, which was acquired for Cherwell Council, offers 390,000 sq ft of retail and the acquisition extends to the proposed CQ2 site which will include a hotel, cinema and restaurants.
Montagu Evans has been appointed to advise both councils on their wider property and asset management work for the centres, as well as initially providing specialist advice on the investment transactions.
John Tinley, head of Montagu Evans’ Property Management team, said: “Both these centres have been acquired by local authorities wanting to take more direct steps towards improving the look and feel of their town centres, so this is the start of a very exciting journey.
“We are working very closely with our asset management colleagues and looking at a wide range of opportunities to improve the shopper experience and to secure the long-term success of these centres.”
