Edinburgh retail park that’s home to Halfords, Greggs and Subway bought by Crown for £5.7 million
“Throughout the country, the retail warehouse sector continues to see strong levels of tenant demand and rental growth” – Jamie Thain, Galbraith
An Edinburgh retail park that is home to Halfords, Greggs and Subway has changed hands in a near-£6 million deal.
Seafield Retail Park, which lies to the east of the city and also houses Connection Flooring and McGuirks Golf, has been sold by Rankeilour Properties to Crown Estate Scotland.
The capital park extends to an overall internal floor area of almost 25,000 square feet and also benefits from electric vehicle charging. It is 100 per cent occupied and produces a total annual rental income of £428,630. The sale price was just over £5.7m.
Rankeilour Properties acquired the site in late 2020 and is said to have implemented an “active asset management strategy” since then, including the subdivision of one of the units, now let to Greggs and Subway and bringing EV charging to the park. In addition, a unit previously let to Archers Sleepcentre is now occupied by McGuirks Golf’s first mainland UK store.
Property firm Galbraith acted for the vendor Rankeilour Properties, with legal advice from Shepherd and Wedderburn. Property agency CBRE represented the buyer, Crown Estate Scotland.
Jamie Thain, investment partner at Galbraith, said: “We are delighted to have completed this sale on behalf of our client Rankeilour Properties, having advised on the acquisition in 2020. They have executed their business plan for this prominent park over the last five years and the sale underlines the strength of the sector and also Edinburgh as a location for investment.
“Throughout the country, the retail warehouse sector continues to see strong levels of tenant demand and rental growth, which in turn underpins pricing. Retail parks and out‑of‑town terraces remain among the strongest‑performing retail sub‑sectors.
“Vacancy rates continue to tighten and rental growth is being achieved in most well‑located schemes. This is largely being driven by consumer preference for easily accessible locations with free parking, value‑led operators, and efficient store formats.”
Jack Chandler of CBRE added: “Seafield Retail Park lies within a strategic location of future investment and redevelopment. In addition to this, the retail warehouse sector has continued to demonstrate strong performance in a challenging wider market.
“The acquisition by Crown Estate Scotland demonstrates their ambition to diversify their portfolio into well positioned, strategic, and resilient real estate.”
Crown Estate Scotland is the self-financing public corporation of the Scottish Government responsible for the management of land and property north of the Border owned by the monarch “in right of the Crown”. It was separated from the Crown Estate of the UK under the Scotland Act 2016.
Meanwhile, property investment firm Fore Partnership has announced that Softcat, the IT infrastructure and services provider, has taken the last remaining floor at Cadworks in Glasgow city centre, on a ten-year lease.
The “milestone” deal for 10,160 sq ft of space on the fourth floor means that the office development is now fully let.
Softcat will relocate from its current Nelson Mandela Place office, expanding into its new accommodation in late summer.
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