Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

'Record numbers of food stores changed hands in 2023'

'Record numbers of food stores changed hands in 2023'
iStock
Getty Images

More supermarkets were bought and sold in 2023 than ever before as debt-laden chains tried to raise cash by selling off stores to property investors.

According to latest data from Knight Frank, food stores worth a record £2.49 billion were bought and sold in the UK. This is three times as much as the previous year, when there were £770 million of supermarket deals, and is 71 per cent above the ten-year average of £1.4 billion.


Some of the biggest deals involved Asda and Morrisons — both of which are owned by private equity firms — selling and then leasing back some of their stores.

“The companies using [sale-and-leaseback agreements] have a very high cost of capital,” the boss of one property investment fund said, “so they might use the deals to pay down expensive debt or just use it as another avenue to raise finance.”

Asda, owned by TDR Capital, the private equity group, and the brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, sold — and then leased back — 25 supermarkets to Realty Income Corporation, an American property investor, for £650 million over the summer. Realty Income also bought a portfolio of supermarkets from Morrisons, owned by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, another American private equity house, for £175 million.

In March 2023, Sainsbury’s paid £431 million to buy the freeholds of 21 of its stores.

Josh Roberts, a chartered surveyor in Knight Frank’s retail capital markets team, said, “While commercial property volumes look set to decline by around 50 per cent overall in 2023, retail property investment has been resilient, buoyed by a record year for food stores.

“This is driven by a flight to safety, with supermarkets offering some of the strongest covenants available on long, inflation-linked leases and a significant increase in sale-and-leaseback transactions.”

Knight Frank, the estate agency and property services group, expects investment volumes for food stores to “remain strong” in 2024, albeit below last year’s record levels.

More for you

Andrew Goodacre
Bira CEO Andrew Goodacre
Bira CEO Andrew Goodacre

Bira: urgent support needed after 250,000 retail jobs lost in 5 years

The retail association has expressed deep concern over the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data showing that the UK retail sector has lost nearly a quarter of a million jobs over the past five years.

The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), which works with over 6,000 independent retailers across the UK, has highlighted the devastating impact these job losses are having on high streets nationwide.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nisa retailers donating for Sunshine and Smiles charity in Leeds

Charity donation event by West Yorkshire Nisa retailers supporting Down syndrome families

Nisa retailers raise £4,270 for Leeds Charity Sunshine and Smiles on World Down Syndrome Day

Nisa retailers have joined forces to raise an impressive £4,270 for Sunshine and Smiles, a Leeds-based charity that provides vital support for children and young people who have Down syndrome and their families.

Sunshine and Smiles was founded in 2011 as a small community support group and became an official charity in 2013. As the only dedicated Down syndrome support network in Leeds, they play a crucial role in the local community, offering essential resources and guidance to families in need.

Keep ReadingShow less
CPUK’s Bromborough factory in Merseyside, set to close in 2025, risking 300 jobs as Cheerios production shifts
iStock image

Major cereal maker to close factory as sales decline

The manufacturer of Nestlé Cereals, Cereal Partners UK (CPUK), has announced plans to close its Bromborough factory, putting approximately 300 jobs at risk.

Production at the site in Merseyside, which produces the Cheerios brand and own-label rice crispies and cornflakes for leading supermarkets, is set to move to another facility in Staverton, Wiltshire, as part of a £74 million investment plan.

Keep ReadingShow less
Justin King CBE presenting a National Lottery Good Causes award to Cardiff retailer Rashid Khalid at Broadway Post Office

Justin King CBE honors Rashid Khalid

Allwyn honours Cardiff retailer for supporting community with National Lottery tickets

Justin King CBE, Chair of National Lottery operator Allwyn, visited Cardiff retailer, Rashid Khalid – who owns Broadway Post Office – to present him with a plaque to celebrate his store and its National Lottery players raising more than £650,000 for Good Causes to date.

This funding has helped support people and organisations in his local community, across Wales and right around the UK.

Keep ReadingShow less
Convenience store in UK retail park showing growth in 2024 PwC report
Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images

Improving picture for retailers; convenience leads growth in store openings

Convenience stores emerged as largest growing category in terms of store opening last year, a recent report has stated, showing overall decline in chain outlet closures with 2024 having the second fewest closures in a decade, reflecting an improving picture for retailers.

According to Store Opening and Closing Data 2024 by PwC, a total of 12,804 shops and outlets belonging to multiples and chains (those with five or more outlets) exited UK high streets, shopping centres and retail parks in 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less