The freehold interest in the biggest M&S store in Wales has been acquired in a £23.23m deal.
Private equity investor Topland has acquired the property interest of 72-76 Queen Street in the centre of Cardiff.
M&S has been located in the building for more than 80 years with a further 135.5 years remaining on the current lease.
Topland is no stranger to the commercial property market in Cardiff as a previous owner of the Capital Tower office building in the city centre.
It has acquired its latest property asset, which extends to nearly 115,000 sq ft, in the city from M&G, which had put the investment up for sale in 2019 with a £33.2m asking price.
The lease generates an annual rental income of £1.6m.
David Sanderson of Topland said: “This investment follows a number of recent Topland Group acquisitions across all sectors. We are buying counter cyclically in retail where we see value, we have also been successful in the highly competitive industrial sector and are securing opportunities both on and off market.
“The group is in legals on five new acquisitions including a build to rent scheme, office refurbishments and standing income producing assets. We have significant cash reserves for further investment and will be active over the next 12 months.”
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Bruce Gillingham Pollard advised Topland, while M&G was represented by Knight Frank.
The deal comes after the recent acquisition of another prime building in Queen Street by retail billionaire Mike Ashley.
Through Fraser Group, he has acquired the Next store occupied building that extends to nearly 100,000 sq ft, from an institutional fund.
The lease, which generates an annual rent of around £1.5m a year, expires in 2027. The property investment was put on the market with an asking price of around £15m.