Business

London firm snaps up Linen Green complex

LONDON investment firm Neptune Group has bought the Linen Green retail development outside Dungannon for an undisclosed sum.

The Moygashel centre had been on the market for £5 million.

The Linen Green at the former Moygashel linen factory is home to a range of fashion boutiques as well as homeware stores, cafes, restaurants and some offices and medical firms.

First opened in the 1990s, the complex has undergone significant development over the decades and now extends to some 150,000 sq ft. However, it was placed into the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) after previous owners Jermon Developments collapsed in 2011.

It was part of Nama's portfolio of Northern Ireland properties bought en masse by New York headquartered private investment fund Cerberus for just over £1 billion.

It represented a massive discount on the original value of the loans, the face value of the original borrowings being £4.5bn and gave the Americans control over around 850 properties, including Lanyon Plaza and the Soloist buildings in Belfast.

In October, Cerberus put nine properties on sale, including the Waterside Crescent Business Park in Derry and a number of small business units in the Coleraine area, which between them were expected to fetch in the region of £5m. Neptune Group director Patrick Heffron said the Linen Green was "one of the premier boutique retail outlet destinations in Northern Ireland". "It has an impressive footfall and has the advantage of being located a very short distance from junction 15 of the M1 motorway and within 45 minutes drive of 90 per cent of Northern Ireland's population," he said. "We feel that the scheme still offers fantastic potential and we plan on adding to the already vibrant tenant mix by repositioning it to create a really exciting retail experience." The sale of the property was managed by CBRE, which has also been appointed by Neptune as the sole letting and managing agents.

* SOLD: Linen Green retail development at the Moygashel centre outside Dungannon