A SIBLING of the billionaire brothers who own Asda has completed the purchase of the Bon Accord Centre in Aberdeen.
EP Properties, led by Zakir Issa – brother of EG Group bosses Mohsin and Zuber, who own Asda in a joint venture with TDR Capital – has purchased the mall from administrators.
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The value of the deal has not been disclosed, but it is understood that the mall – once valued at over £200million – changed hands for less than £10million on this occasion.
The centre, which was owned and operated by two Guernsey-based companies, Aberdeen Retail 1 and Aberdeen Retail 2, fell into administration last August.
Joint administrators at accountants and business advisors Azets said the collapse was due to “unsustainable cash flow problems stemming from the ongoing impact of the Covid pandemic, rising operational costs and intense retail competition”.
A spokesman for Blackburn-headquartered EP Properties has confirmed that the company now owns the Bon Accord Centre but was unable to provide any further information on the sale.
Mr Issa’s company, EP Properties, has a commercial property portfolio across the UK, with the only other Scottish site being Blantyre Industrial Estate near Glasgow.
The company’s website says it is a UK-based investment company which specialises in acquiring, letting and selling commercial property.
The sale is the second piece of good news for the city centre this week, following the announcement that the former John Lewis store could also soon have a new owner.
Norco House – previously the site of the John Lewis store – is now under offer, Savills has now confirmed.
But no details have been disclosed yet about who the prospective buyer is, and what its plans are for the huge George Street property.
The building, which is now more than 50 years old, extends to more than 200,000sqft over five floors, but it has had an uncertain future since John Lewis shut up shop in 2021.
