News Item

CALA Properties £65M Shopping Centre Deal
06 Feb 2007

CALA Properties has concluded missives to purchase the Brandon Shopping Centre in Motherwell, in a £65 million joint venture deal with Bank of Scotland, Corporate.

The Edinburgh based commercial property company has secured the 20 acre site comprising 350,000 sq ft of retail space and is planning a programme of improvements and active asset management.

The Brandon Centre has a number of high street retail brands including Argos, Primark, Woolworths and Boots.

CALA Properties’ Managing Director Alasdair MacConnell said: “Retail is an increasingly important part of our business and we have identified the opportunity to grow the value of the Brandon Centre through active asset management and development. The centre is already popular with retailers and shoppers alike and this change in ownership is an excellent opportunity to review and develop the retail mix and improve the shopping centre for the people of Motherwell”.

MacConnell continued; “The shopping centre is at the heart of Motherwell’s community. We want to give it a new lease of life, mirroring the work being done in other parts of Lanarkshire to revitalise traditional town centres and attract further investment.”

This is an exciting opportunity for CALA Properties at an important time in Motherwell’s history with the recent announcement of a £1bn redevelopment of the former Ravenscraig steelworks site close to Motherwell.

MacConnell commentated “The Brandon Centre is a long established, vital and viable town centre. The proposed development at Ravenscraig is obviously a huge investment and will bring further competition to Lanarkshire’s traditional town centres. However, we plan to provide a series of improvements that will contribute towards securing the future of the Brandon Centre and an important part of traditional Scottish community life”

 

PR CONTACTS FOR CALA PROPERTIES

CALA Group Limited
Claire Hart
Group Marketing Manager
Adam House
5 Mid New Cultins
Edinburgh EH11 4DU

tel: 0131 535 5200
fax: 0131 535 5210
clairehart@cala.co.uk
www.cala.co.uk/properties

Reay Public Relations Ltd.
Jonathan Reay
Ferngrove
Kilmun
Argyll PA23 8SB

tel/fax: 01369 840042
jonathan@reaypr.co.uk
www.reaypr.co.uk