Orchard Street acquires Debenhams department store in Leeds for £38 million

Orchard Street Investment Management (‘Orchard Street’), the specialist commercial property investment manager, announces that it has completed the acquisition of 115-126 Briggate in Leeds City Centre in an off-market transaction for £38 million.  The acquisition, which Orchard Street has made on behalf of St. James’s Place UK PLC, reflects a net initial yield of 5.58%. The property is let in its entirety to Debenhams Retail plc on a 35 year lease with an unexpired term of 19 years. 

Located in the heart of Leeds City Centre’s prime retail district, on the pedestrianised thoroughfare of Briggate, the property is central to Leeds’s position as one of the UK’s most popular shopping destinations.  It is adjacent to the Victoria Quarter and Harvey Nichols with additional frontages onto King Edward Street and Kirkgate.  The property is also situated between the recently completed Trinity scheme and Victoria Gate, which is currently under construction, and so is ideally positioned to benefit from growing footfall.

The property, which comprises a modern department store with a gross internal area of 111,824 sq ft set out over six floors, produces a current passing rent of £2.242 million per annum, subject to upward only rent reviews every five years. 

Tom Chadwick at Orchard Street, said:

“This prime property is situated in one of the most sought after locations in Leeds and is at the centre of an established shopping hub which should strengthen as the retail offering continues to improve.”