A new management team has been named at a West Midlands shopping centre after US investors completed their acquisition of the hub.
Sovereign Centros has taken over as asset manager of Touchwood in Solihull while commercial property consultancies Cushman & Wakefield and Knight Frank have been recruited as joint lease agencies to find new tenants.
These appointments come as Atlanta-based real estate investor Ardent completes the acquisition of the town centre retail hub from Lendlease Retail Partnership after it was first announced in May.
Ardent said it was now planning to improve the facilities at Touchwood through a new asset management initiative it was calling 'Project Atlanta' which will include work on signage, entrances and the main arcades to maximise the opportunities for Solihull.
Touchwood covers 650,000 sq ft of retail space and includes the only John Lewis in the West Midlands after it survived a cull of its portfolio by the high-end department store chain over the past year.
Annual footfall at the centre is estimated to be 13 million people.
Matt Shulman, chief executive of The Ardent Companies, said: "Touchwood is an exceptional shopping centre and completing the acquisition marks a new milestone for our UK investment platform which we are excited to grow further in alignment with our strategies and objectives in the US."
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UK managing director Andrew Hilston added: "Touchwood's exceptional location and strong tenant line-up were important factors in our decision to invest - underpinned by its emergence as the only John Lewis anchored centre in the region.
"Solihull is poised for growth as a key commercial location within the West Midlands and we have already received numerous competitive approaches for space at the centre from potential occupiers across retail, leisure and hospitality."
Chris Geaves, chief executive of Sovereign Centros, said: "We are delighted to be appointed at Touchwood and see a real opportunity to strengthen the centre's position at the heart of a thriving regional market.
"We look forward to working closely with the leasing agents, centre teams and the local council to progress a range of new initiatives that bring Touchwood in line with the wider growth ambitions of Solihull."
