London based The Crown Estate has bought The Gate entertainments centre in Newcastle city centre for £60m from Delancey, which will boost its £1.5 billion regional portfolio.
The 208,000sq ft venue opened just 10 years ago and has recently undergone a major redevelopment. It now plays host to 19 other venues, including an Empire Cinema, Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays and JD Wetherspoons.
The Gate was sold by Delencey in a partnership with the Royal Bank of Scotland, who has been managing the building since the purchase from PropInvest took place in December 2010.
The Crown Estate, which is independently managed with profits going back to The Treasury, now owns 15 retail parks, the majority located in prime regional locations. These include Leeds, Portsmouth, and Nottingham. It also operates two equal joint venture partnerships with Land Securities, including the Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford.
The company also announced this week that they have submitted four planning applications for the £450m redevelopment of the St James’s area in central London to rebuild and create nearly 340,000 sq ft of mixed-use accommodation between Regent Street and Haymarket. Work should start on site by autumn next year and complete by 2016.