Pillar Property is hotly tipped in the property market to have won the bidding race for Kingfisher's Chartwell Land portfolio.
The Kingfisher board is understood to have approved the£700 million-plus deal last week, with a target of exchanging contracts before the end of this month and completing the deal by March.
Neither side would confirm the deal, and Pillar and all the other potential bidders are tightly bound by confidentiality clauses. But property sources expect the winning bidder to start breaking up the portfolio as soon as possible.
Pillar bid in partnership with Morley Fund Management, and rival retail park specialist Capital & Regional is also likely to end up with a number of the sites.
The 260,000 sq m portfolio consists of 15 retail parks, 12 of which are anchored by B&Q. In addition, there are five development sites that could provide another 93,000 sq m of retail space.
It is the development sites that are thought to be of interest to Pillar.
The jewel in the Chartwell crown is Temple Square in Manchester, where there is open A1 planning permission for 28,800 sq m of development, anchored by a B&Q Warehouse.
Pillar manages the Hercules Property Unit Trust, which specialises in this type of prime, open shopping park. 'Temple Square has the potential to become the premier retail park in Manchester,' said one agent.
But Morley and Capital & Regional are likely to take some of the standing investments for their Junction retail park fund.
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