The Crown Estate has continued its push into the shopping centre sector, exchanging contracts with Capital Shopping Centres to buy the Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford
CSC and its partner LaSalle Investment Management fought a decade-long planning battle to redevelop and extend the centre, culminating in approval in March 2007 for a £320m scheme to create a 750,000-sq ft retail destination anchored by a John Lewis store. The consent was for 90 new shops, bars, restaurants and cafes in a series of individual buildings around two new pedestrianised cross streets, fully integrating the new shopping area with the city centre. In addition the scheme envisaged 127 apartments and more than 1,200 car parking spaces.
James Cooksey, head of central London and diversification at The Crown Estate said: "Westgate has a central role to play in Oxford city centre's retail landscape and as a long-term investor we are excited about improving the shopping experience and the existing retail mix.
“Our commitment and approach to managing the Westgate centre will reflect The Crown Estate's strong sense of stewardship and to that end we are assessing all investment and development opportunities with due regard to the importance of commercial viability. Strong and productive relationships with Oxford City Council, other key stakeholders and retailers will be central to our long-term approach."
The Crown Estate has a strategy of diversifying its commercial property holdings away from the Central London area by acquiring key assets in major city centre locations. The purchase of the Westgate Shopping Centre forms an important part of this strategy and follows the acquisition last year of a 50 per cent share of the Princesshay Shopping Centre in Exeter.
