Milligan Agree Sole partnership with BlackstoneMILLIGAN, one of the UK’s leading retail developers, has agreed a sole partnership with The Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX) with the capability to invest up to £1/2 billion in shopping centres in the UK.
John Milligan said: “Since first working with Blackstone in 2002, we have not seen value in the UK shopping Centre market. However, we believe that the coming months will produce some interesting opportunities and we are extremely well positioned with Blackstone to take advantage of these.
“We were approached by a number of potential capital partners but decided to go with Blackstone because of the existing relationship, their proactive approach and their speed of decision making.”
The deal involves Blackstone providing the majority of the funds to the joint venture with Milligan co-investing.
Nick Lyle, of The Blackstone Group, commented: "Blackstone’s partnership with Milligan began with the Triangle in Manchester and since then we have collaborated on a number of projects within our portfolio companies and related investments. We are drawn to Milligan on account of their breadth of experience and depth of understanding in the retail sector, as well as their creative and disciplined approach which fits very much with Blackstone’s own business model. We are delighted that they have chosen us as their sole partner and are committed to growing the business further and building on what is for us a successful partnership."
Mark Morgan, Director of Milligan and leading the acquisition programme, said: “We will be looking for major shopping centres which will have the ability to dominate their catchment but which may have currently fallen down the hierarchy where we can bring entrepreneurial investments to reposition and regenerate the asset.”