The 460,000 sq ft Bon Accord shopping centre in Aberdeen has been put up for sale following the collapse of its owners.
Guernsey-based Aberdeen Retail 1 and Aberdeen Retail 2 has been placed in the hands of administrators at Azets as a result of “unsustainable cash flow problems stemming from the ongoing impact of the Covid pandemic, rising operational costs and intense retail competition”.
The 1990s-built mall, which was once own by Landsec and British Land, comprises 72 shops and 1,400 car parking spaces. F&C REIT paid £189m to buy the shopping centre, formerly known as the Bon Accord & St Nicholas Centre in 2013.
Additional period buildings on George Street, Upper Kirkgate, Loch Street and Gallowgate provide a further 90,000 sq ft of retail and ancillary space, 6,300 sq ft of offices, flats, and the listed Students’ Union building.
The average annual footfall to the Bon Accord Shopping Centre pre-Covid was 15m visitors.
Administrators at Azets said the mall would continue to trade while it was prepared for sale. Cushman & Wakefield has been appointed to find a buyer.
James Fennessey, restructuring partner with Azets, said: “The Bon Accord Shopping Centre and the St Nicholas Centre, which merged with the Bon Accord in 2020, are long-established retail centres with a very strong brand name across the north of Scotland.
“The contribution of the Bon Accord to the economy of the North East is significant. We will now quickly stabilise the trading position and wish to reassure tenants, shoppers and stakeholders that it is very much business as usual.”
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