US property investors have acquired Solihull’s main shopping centre.
Touchwood has been bought by Atlanta-based The Ardent Companies from Lendlease Retail Partnership in an undisclosed deal.
Touchwood covers 650,000 sq ft of town centre 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.
Touchwood, which also includes the Crescent Arcade, has brands such as Apple, H&M, Zara and Next along with a food and drink offer and a Cineworld cinema.
The acquisition is Ardent’s second since launching its London office in January following a deal to acquire 1.4 million sq ft of industrial space from M7 Real Estate in March.
Matt Shulman, chief executive of The Ardent Companies, said: "Touchwood is in a particularly strong location and already has an impressive retail and leisure line up.
"The opportunity to work closely with top brands, Solihull Council and the community at an exciting time for the wider area was an important part of our decision to invest.
"We’re looking forward to bringing our expertise and experience to the table to continue improving the retail environment at Touchwood."
Property consultancies Knight Frank and CBRE acted on the deal.
