LaSalle Investment Management has completed the purchase of Purley Way Retail Park – an area on the western side of the A road and which extends northwards from the John Lewis store almost all the way to the twin chimneys of Ikea. It includes various light industry buildings, warehouses and stores, such as Currys and PC World.
In total, the land includes around 70,000 sq ft of retail warehouses and is fully occupied.
LaSalle bought the property from IM Properties, who acquired the site in two tranches in 2010 and 2012, and turned a tidy profit on the trade, or an “excellent yield”, as one of their suits described it.
LaSalle is a global property investment business, a subsidiary of the US-based Jones Lang LaSalle, one of the world’s largest real estate companies. They have a reputation for managing shopping centres, but have also been busy acquiring residential property.
Where the potential value in the Purley Way deal lies for LaSalle is in the Croydon Plan, the local authority strategy for the borough, which has the land subject to change to housing.
If Hammersfield does ever get built, the usefulness of an out-of-town retail park may be much diminished. But the need for thousands more homes will still exist.
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