Property News - St George's scheme at Preston is bought by The Mall for £102.5m

Capital & Regional's town centre retail fund, The Mall, has paid£102.5 million for St George's Shopping Centre at Preston, Lancashire. It is the 17th shopping centre bought by the fund, and brings its total portfolio to£1.4 billion.

The centre is Preston's main covered shopping destination. It opened in 1964, and previous owner Legal & General spent£23 million on a major refurbishment in 2000 that increased the floorspace to 270,000 sq ft (25,080 sq m).

The scheme has about 106 retail units, with tenants including Marks & Spencer, H&M, Arcadia, New Look, WHSmith and Clinton Cards.

The Mall chief executive Ken Ford said: 'St George's is another excellent purchase for The Mall. The council's exciting redevelopment plans for the Tithebarn area are made to ensure that central Preston remains one of the most important and vibrant retail offers in the region. We will be working hard to ensure The Mall makes a meaningful contribution to this.'

Strutt & Parker advised The Mall. DTZ Debenham Tie Leung acted for Legal & General.