Le mie ricette per la real estate communityIngka Centres, part of the Ingka Group, has acquired Kings Mall shopping centre in Hammersmith, London from Schroder UK Real Estate Fund. Ingka Centres plan to transform the shopping centre into a new IKEA-anchored urban, mixed-use destination, helping to regenerate the Hammersmith area.
The acquisition is Ingka Centres’ first in the UK and represents a milestone for the company, which in 2018 announced a new strategic vision and investment of €7.3bn to transform its business in response to the changing retail environment.
Kings Mall will be the first mixed-use project in a downtown location, anchored by an IKEA city store. These urban projects are designed to complement IKEA retail’s strategy of opening smaller format stores in inner city locations in response to global urbanisation trends, changing customer behaviour and the digitalisation of retail.
The property was acquired from Schroder UK Real Estate Fund and comprises 27,133 sq m, including the shopping centre car park for 604 lots. The volume of investment including acquisition and future redevelopment is approximately £170 mln.
Gerard Groener, Ingka Centres’ Managing Director, commented: “Our urban projects are all about getting closer to more people, and a revamped Kings Mall will be an ideal location for reaching millions of Londoners. Hammersmith is a place where people work, live and spend their leisure time, and we want to be part of it. It is one of London’s main retail, commercial and residential centres, and has excellent public transport links.”
Ingka Centres redevelopment plans for Kings Mall will be heavily driven by the needs of the local community. It will remain a retail-led destination, anchored by IKEA, but it will go far beyond shopping.
Sustainability will also be at the forefront of the redeveloped Kings Mall. “Our ambition is to redesign the property around our People and Planet Positive strategy, and we will focus on recycling, reusing, improving air quality, reducing customer travel and more. As an operator of high footfall destinations, we believe it is our responsibility to make sustainable living an easy choice. Especially in big cities like London”, Mr Groener explained.
Stephen Cowan, Leader of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham said: “We’re very pleased Hammersmith will benefit from having this IKEA city store. Ingka Centres will help rejuvenate King Street and improve our neighbourhood for all our residents and local businesses. We’re delighted to benefit from this huge investment and look forward to working with Ingka Centres, our residents and the wider community to deliver something really special here.”
Jessica Berney, Fund Manager, Schroder UK Real Estate Fund (SREF), added, “The sale of Kings Mall marks the successful completion of our business plan since acquisition in 2015 and we look forward to seeing what the new ownership will bring to the scheme.This investment from Ingka Centres represents an exciting new chapter for the Hammersmith retail environment, whilst SREF will reinvest the sale proceeds into the other exciting development projects currently underway within its portfolio.”
Ingka Centres is part of the Ingka Group (which also includes IKEA Retail and Ingka Investments). Ingka Centres has more than 40 years of experience in shopping centres and today works with 1,600 brands across its portfolio of 44 shopping centres in 14 markets. Centres locations appear under different trademarks, including MEGA in Russia and LIVAT in China, always anchored by an IKEA store. Ingka Centres hosts and serves more than 480 million visitors each year at its IKEA anchored meeting places. Ingka Centres creates its meeting places by collaborating with local communities, as well as its tenants and partners, to ensure they are destinations with emotional meaning that add value, and build social connections.
Source : Ingka Centres