THE Meads and Kingsmead shopping centre in Farnborough has been purchased by Lambert Smith Hampton Investment Management on behalf of Rushmoor Borough Council.

The council completed the acquisition of the shopping centre from St Modwen joint venture company Key Property Investments in a boost to its long-term regeneration and improvement plans for the town. Two blocks of the Meads centre include a Sainsbury’s, car park and neighbouring shops, as well as a Travelodge, Wetherspoon’s, gym and play centre, along with 70 homes.

A third block was cleared for redevelopment in 2020, while a fourth has planning consent for shops with offices or homes above. Kingsmead contains 24 shop units, as well as a Vue cinema with a business centre above it and a large car park.

When contacted by the Chronicle Lite, Rushmoor Borough Council refused to disclose how much had been spent on the aquisition.

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The property management team of Eddisons has been assigned to operate the site on a three year contract. The appointment is the latest in a series of local authority contract wins for the property group, which has increased the gross development value of the public sector land and property on which it advises to more than £1bn since 2021.

Head of property management, Andrew Glover, said: “This is an important win for the Eddisons property management team and shows our dedication and commitment to working closely with local authority regeneration teams.

“Rushmoor council has taken a bold and long-term strategic view with this acquisition, which will be pivotal to regenerating Farnborough and making it a better place to live, and we are really pleased to be supporting the local authority in ensuring the smooth running of the shopping centre and assisting them to achieve their aims for the town.”

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Rushmoor Borough Council was advised on the acquisition of the shopping centre by Lambert Smith Hampton Investment Management, one of the largest investment advisors to local authorities in the UK, and law firm Freeths.

Karen Edwards, executive director at Rushmoor Borough Council, said: “Both Lambert Smith Hampton Investment Management and Eddisons’ expertise has proved invaluable to us in acquiring the asset and mobilising the management of it. Both teams have rapidly become integral to the Rushmoor regeneration team, supporting us with our improvement strategy for the town centre.

“We have been working closely together as part of an on-boarding process which will ensure the seamless handover of the shopping centre’s operation and enabling the property management team to hit the ground running from day one.”