Christie Group PLC (AIM:CTG) has been instructed to sell The Trentham Estate, one of the UK's most iconic visitor attractions, on behalf of St. Modwen.
The business services group, which specialises in the hospitality, leisure, healthcare, medical, childcare & education and retail sectors, said the decision to sell the estate, which includes leisure-based outlet retail and garden centre property investments, follows a strategic review of St Modwen’s core business.
Trentham attracts around 3.25mln people a year, making it one of the top five paid-for garden attractions in the UK.
"Trentham is a unique asset in that it combines a mix of very stable investment income, as well as revenue from the gardens and events, whilst delivering numerous opportunities for further development. Having one of the busiest garden centres in the country, a vacancy rate of only 2% in the Outlet Shopping Village and an easily accessible location with 7.5 million people living within an hour's drive-time, mark Trentham out as one of the most exciting assignments we've worked on in recent years,” said Jon Patrick, the head of leisure & development at Christie & Co.
"We anticipate that the British public's increasing interest in all things ‘outdoors’ as well as investors' focus on long income opportunities with further potential for development and exposure to operational real estate, will see interest in Trentham coming from a diverse buyer group," he added.