Adhan Group acquires St George’s Shopping Centre

The newly-launched retail arm of the Blackburn-based Adhan Group has acquired St George’s Shopping Centre in Preston for an undisclosed sum.

The 270,000 sq ft centre previously changed hands for £87m in 2010 and £73m in 2015 before entering into administration earlier this year when its owner, InfraRed, defaulted on a loan secured against the property.

The Adhan Group says that it intends to invest significantly to attract new tenants, with a number of negotiations already under way, as well as supporting existing retailers, which include H&M, River Island, Marks and Spencer, Superdrug, Foot Asylum and Matalan.

Salim Patel, CEO of the Adhan Group, said: "Acquiring St George’s is a significant milestone in the expansion of the portfolio of our retail arm. It is widely recognised as the dominant and premier shopping destination in the city and we are extremely proud to have purchased this landmark asset and intend to ensure it has a bright future, remaining central to the city’s strong retail offering.

“As a national property company which has its roots firmly in Lancashire we are proud to have risen to the challenge and been able to acquire the centre for future generations to enjoy. The purchase was exchanged in just 48hrs which demonstrates our commitment to bringing it into our portfolio.”

Alongside its retail arm, the Adhan Group also has an industrial portfolio of more than 10 million sq ft of property throughout England and Wales. Founded by Salim Patel and family in 2003 it has since grown to become one of the largest, privately owned, commercial property companies.

Adhan Group’s retail arm was established in 2020 to further expand the company through the purchase of shopping centres, retail parks and sizeable retail assets with a target of creating an asset value of £1bn by 2023.

Knight Frank acted for the vendors and Savills acted for Adhan Group retail arm on the purchase.

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