Major city centre retail site in Bristol sold

Published by

Nicky Godding

A major retail site in Bristol has been bought by asset management company AEW UK Real Estate Investment Trust.

15-33 Union Street sits opposite The Galleries Shopping Centre and near Cabot Circus, Bristol's most popular retail destination. Located on a busy pedestrian street, the 63,125 sq ft property experiences high footfall and is ideally suited for retail or leisure use. The location of the site has also been identified as a major regeneration area.

Built in 2001, the property currently comprises five purpose built split-level retail or leisure units over four floors with road access to both Union Street and Fairfax Street. Four of the five units are let to three household names and a successful local retailer. The remaining unit is currently vacant, with the vendor providing a 12 month rent guarantee. AEW says it is currently in discussions with a number of parties who are keen to occupy this space.

Alex Short, Portfolio Manager, AEW UK REIT, said: "We are pleased to have acquired this prominent and busy city centre property. This is an excellent fit for our portfolio and will immediately contribute to AEWUK's income stream. The site offers the opportunity to benefit from the major regeneration currently underway in Bristol city centre over the long-term. While we have made two recent investments in the retail sector, our overall exposure remains relatively low compared to industrial. We continue to take a cautious approach to retail, judging each site on its specific merits."

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.