Hines Acquires Three UK Retail Parks Totaling 438,000 Square Feet for European Core Fund
Hines has acquired three fully leased retail parks totaling approximately 438,000 square feet across Greater London, Manchester and Edinburgh, the firm announced Sept. 1, expanding its UK retail park portfolio through the Hines European Core Fund (HECF).
The three assets — Nugent Shopping Park in Orpington, Altrincham Retail Park in Greater Manchester, and Straiton Retail Park near Edinburgh — carry an estimated combined value of approximately £167 million. Altrincham Retail Park and Straiton Retail Park traded for a combined £88 million, while Nugent Shopping Park carried a reported valuation of £79 million as of March 2025.
Portfolio Overview: Three Markets, Three Assets
Nugent Shopping Park, located at Cray Avenue in Orpington, comprises 139,000 square feet and is anchored by a full-line Marks & Spencer store with a grocery food hall. The asset draws from a large London commuter catchment and counts retailers including Next, Boots, Vision Express, Nando's, Superdrug, JD and Five Guys among its tenants.
Altrincham Retail Park, situated on George Richards Way in Altrincham, is the largest of the three assets at 228,000 square feet. The fully leased park serves one of the strongest catchments in North West England and is occupied by Lidl, Boots, B&Q, Currys, B&M, Pets at Home and TK Maxx.
Straiton Retail Park, addressed at Straiton Mains in Loanhead near Edinburgh, totals 71,000 square feet within a broader retail destination. Its tenant roster includes Home Bargains, The Food Warehouse, Dunelm, TK Maxx, Dreams and Boots.
HECF Strategy and Leadership Commentary
The acquisitions were made on behalf of HECF, which is led by Fund Manager Simone Pozzato in coordination with Hines' global investment management platform.
"We see UK retail parks as an increasingly compelling part of a diversified core portfolio," said Alfonso Munk, Global Co-Head of Investment Management at Hines. "Limited new supply, strong retailer demand, and attractive income characteristics create a combination that has been difficult to replicate elsewhere in the retail market. These acquisitions allow us to build meaningful exposure in three of the UK's strongest metropolitan markets."
Ross Blair, Head of Western Europe at Hines, emphasized the firm's local execution capabilities. "These acquisitions demonstrate the strength of our local sourcing capabilities and our focus on creating value through active management," Blair said. "Success comes down to picking the right assets and executing well. We believe these retail parks combine strong fundamentals with clear opportunities to create value over time."
Hines said it will oversee asset management across the portfolio through its UK platform, with a focus on tenant engagement, operational performance and rental growth capture over the holding period.
Market Conditions Supporting the Acquisitions
The deals come against a backdrop of tightening fundamentals in the UK retail park sector. Vacancy across UK retail parks has remained below 5%, with one measure placing the rate at 4.8% at the end of 2025 — described as a record low — while another measure put retail park vacancy at 6.1%, the lowest since the second quarter of 2018. New development has remained at historic lows, with supply constraints continuing into the first half of 2026.
Retail parks have posted the strongest five-year rental growth of any retail format, at 4.7%, according to market data, and the combination of low new supply and sustained occupier demand is expected to continue supporting rent growth. The sector has also delivered annualized total returns of approximately 7.3% through the first quarter of 2026, with one measure citing an 8.2% total return over the 12 months to May 2026.
Hines cited scarcity of new retail park development and resilient occupier demand — including from food, leisure, health and wellbeing tenants — as key factors underpinning its conviction in the asset class. The firm described its strategy as focused on supply-constrained, necessity-led retail with income characteristics suited to a core investment mandate.
About Hines
Hines is a global real estate investment manager with $91.7 billion of assets under management across property types, representing a range of institutional and private wealth clients. The firm employs approximately 4,600 people across 30 countries.