Hammerson and British Land are both vying for a £600m 30% stake in Bluewater, the major shopping complex in Kent.
Bluewater opened its doors in 1999 and offers 330 stores, over 55 bars, restaurants and cafes along with 13,000 free car parking spaces. The site attracts 28.1 million visitors per annum.
The retail complex is currently owned by the Lend Lease Retail Partnership made up of four major UK institutions: Prudential (35%), Lend Lease Europe Ltd (30%), the Lend Lease Retail Partnership (25%) and Hermes (10%).
Hammerson is a FTSE 100 company with a portfolio of retail property in the UK and France of around £5.9bn, including 20 prime shopping centres, 22 convenient retail parks and investments in 9 premium designer outlet villages.
British Land's £12bn portfolio is made up of 23% retail parks, 11% superstores, 16% shopping centres, and 5% department stores.