UK private equity fund manager Moorfield and local developer-investor Property Alliance have announced their first joint investment with the purchase of The Towers in Didsbury, South Manchester for £47 mln (EUR 55 mln) from Amsterdam-listed property firm Wereldhave.

The Towers is currently occupied by high-profile tenants including British Airways, John Lewis, Vodafone and Cisco. The estate consists of nine office buildings, totalling 290,000 sq ft (27,000 m2), within 19 acres of landscaped parkland. Under the new ownership, there are plans to undertake a comprehensive refurbishment programme throughout the estate including extensive landscaping works.

The deal was carried out on behalf of the Moorfield Real Estate Fund II (MREF II.

Manchester-based Property Alliance will be Moorfield's property management partner in the implementation of the JV's business plan.

'The partnership has worked hard over the last 24 months to find the right opportunities to acquire in the North West,' said Marc Gilbard, chief executive of Moorfield Group.

Andrew Turton, managing director of Wereldhave, added: 'The sale of The Towers is in line with our investment strategy to focus on shopping centre acquisitions and follows the purchase of the Dolphin centre in Poole.'

WHR Property acted on behalf of Moorfield and Property Alliance Group and Jones Lang La Salle acted for the vendor.

The sale comes hard on the heels of Wereldhave's acquisition of Ealing Broadway shopping centre in West London. The investment volume of EUR 182 mln reflects a net initial yield of 6.5%.