Plymouth's Armada Centre shopping mall has been acquired by a global investment firm which was attracted by the £30m Armada Way upgrade, according to the council.
The sale price remains undisclosed as London-based asset management giant Schroders takes ownership of the 39-year-old building.
The building, which counts Sainsbury's, Wilko and Peacocks among its anchor stores, also has vacant units following the closure of Silverstall this year and the Laura Ashley unit remaining empty for five years. Sainsbury's renewed its lease in 2023, and the site includes a large double-deck car park.
Ownership of the building now rests with one of Schroders' impact funds, previously held by the BBC's pension fund. Schroders' impact investments aim to generate "positive, measurable social and environmental impact, alongside a financial return".
Last year, Schroders' impact fund received £50m from Homes England, the Labour Government's housing and regeneration agency, in an effort to address "social inequality". The Government stated that the fund is partly focused on town centre regeneration.
This week, Plymouth City Council's Labour leader Tudor Evans cited the ongoing regeneration of Armada Way as a key reason for Schroders' acquisition of the Armada Centre.
At Monday's full council meeting, Cllr Evans revealed he had spoken to a senior Schroders employee when the council sent a delegation to º£½ÇÊÓƵREiiF, the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum, in Leeds last month, reports .
Cllr Evans said: "In Leeds I met Schroders investment manager who said that the reason he had bought a massive shopping centre in the heart of Plymouth was because of the Armada Way project. He wouldn't be here and invest that money if it were not for that."
The £30m redevelopment of Armada Way is marching on, with phase one completion expected this summer while the second zone will see an autumn finish.
Launch of construction at Armada Way kicked off in December 2024 after a High Court Judge overturned a legal challenge from the Save the Trees of Armada Way (Straw) group, which had protested the cutting down of 110 trees the previous March.
Having scrapped a £12.7m proposal upon taking office in May 2023, the Labour-run council has since endorsed a near £30m substitute scheme.
Last month's independent learning review shed light on the handling of the old £12.7m plan and the controversial tree culling by the previous Tory leadership in March 2023, signalling an extra £3.3m cost for the council and flagging the need to mend community relations after what was coined a "traumatic episode".
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