Oxfordshire’s Roadside acquires 12 stores from Lidl in £70m deal

Roadside Real Estate, based at Milton Park in Oxfordshire, has purchased 12 stores from retailer Lidl as part of an ongoing joint venture with Meadow Partners.

The sites, each with a footprint of between 20,000 and 25,000 sq ft, were acquired for a total of £70 million.

Construction is underway at all locations, with completion expected between October 2024 and February 2025 – upon which Lidl has agreed to sell and lease back each site for 25 years.

This is the fourth and largest deal to date for the Roadside-Meadow joint venture, which is said to be negotiating on several other acquisitions.

Charles Dickson, executive chair of Roadside, said: “This is a significant transaction for both Lidl and the joint venture, deploying a substantial portion of our targeted investment quantum into high-quality assets with a nationally recognised tenant under strong covenants.

“The Lidl portfolio is an excellent example of the joint venture’s strategy in action, rapidly providing targeted capital to enable tenant expansion while securing asset management fees and creating additional opportunities for income initiatives."

Andrew McDaniel, founding partner at Meadow Partners, said: “We’re delighted to expand our partnership with Roadside.

“The Lidl portfolio demonstrates the value of Roadside’s approach to asset selection and active management strategy and the resilient long-term returns available in this attractive subsector of the real estate market.

“We look forward to continuing to identify attractive opportunities to grow our partnership in the future."

George Trimmer, an investment associate at Savills, added: “This is an opportunity to forward fund the construction of 12 supermarkets let to Lidl.

“The food stores will be let on 25-year leases, which offers both stability and growth, providing a reliable long-term income stream with the added benefit of annual indexation.

“In addition, the sale and leaseback arrangement offers Lidl an excellent opportunity to unlock capital while retaining operational control.”