Retail Property - Everest sells Hatfield's Galleria to Lehman Brothers for £80m

A joint venture company led by Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners has paid GE Real Estate and WD Galleria a reported£80 million for the Galleria Outlet Centre in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

Peter Everest's company WD Galleria is believed to have multiplied its investment ten-fold since it led the buyout of the Galleria, 10 years ago.

WD Galleria owns the centre jointly with GE Real Estate, and will continue to manage the 500,000 sq ft (46,450 sq m), 89-unit centre. The Galleria, which straddles the A1M, is anchored by a Marks & Spencer Outlet and TK Maxx. In addition, the centre comprises restaurants and a nine-screen UCI cinema.

GE Real Estate managing director Alec Burger said: 'The Galleria has performed very well for GE and represents the benefits of working with strong joint venture partners to achieve mutual goals.'

Built by the Carroll Group of Companies, the Galleria originally opened as a standard format shopping centre in 1987, and was the first centre in Europe to straddle a motorway.

Everest and his team adopted the outlet format when he and Scandinavian Insurance company, Lansfastigheter Property BV, acquired the centre from receivership, and have subsequently attracted brands such as Marks & Spencer's Outlet, Donnay, Mexx and Reebok, as well as seeing existing anchor stores such as TK Maxx expand their presence significantly.

Brian Oakwell of Brian Oakwell & Company stays on as letting agent. King Sturge represented the vendor in the sale.

- Three more retailers have taken space at the 323,000 sq ft (30,000 sq m) Kingsgate Shopping Centre in Huddersfield, bringing in more than£200,000 a year in rents for landlord WD Huddersfield, run by Peter Everest. They are contemporary furniture retailer Morada Interiors, shoeshop Faith Footwear and The Gadget Shop.