Oxford's Templars Square shopping centre bought by Dutch real estate company Redevco

On behalf of an investor client, Redevco, one of Europe’s largest privately-owned real estate investment managers, has agreed to acquire Templars Square in Oxford for £38.8 million from New River. Redevco is purchasing the 1960s local shopping centre with a view to transforming it into a landmark residential-led mixed urban scheme over the next decade. The project has a pre-existing planning consent that includes 226 residential units.

The disposal is conditional on Oxford City Council’s freeholder approval to assign the headlease, release from a previous agreement and expiry of the six-week judicial review period in relation to the planning decision notice. The judicial review period has now expired.

Tom Hoye, Transaction Director at Redevco United Kingdom, said: “Templars Square offers an outstanding opportunity for Redevco to do what it does best, namely helping cities become more sustainable and liveable places. We plan to take a much-loved, but dated, retail asset and transform it into a thriving urban destination which will continue to draw in the local community.” 

Templars Square, which lies 2.5 miles (4 kms) south-east of Oxford’s city centre, is a covered mall-based shopping centre with some open-air and street-facing retail units, two car parks (Knights and Barns Road) and upper-floor offices. The 3.65-hectare site is broadly located between Cowley’s Towns Road to the north and Hockmore Street to the south. The asset is part freehold, with the majority owned as long-leasehold for a period of close to 200 years.

Oxford is attractive as it is one of the UK’s pre-eminent university cities and at the forefront of the growing life sciences industry. With a population of over 150,000 inhabitants the city is faced with a significant housing shortage.

Redevco, part of COFRA Holding AG, is a real estate investment management company with 280 assets under management of a total portfolio value of about €6.7 billion.