A sibling of the billionaire Issa brothers is poised to buy the Bon Accord shopping centre in Aberdeen from administrators for less than £10 million.
It is understood a property company led by Zakir Issa – brother of EG Group bosses Mohsin and Zuber, who own Asda in a joint venture with TDR Capital – is in advanced talks to purchase the mall.
Mr Issa is believed to have already agreed a deal worth less than £10m, wiping out the equity and most of the senior debt held against the asset.
The centre, which was owned and operated by two Guernsey-based companies, Aberdeen Retail 1 and Aberdeen Retail 2, crashed 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”.
Sevket Sabanci, the Turkish billionaire behind Esas Holding – majority shareholder of low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines – had added the shopping centre to his business empire nearly 10 years ago. Mr Sabanci died in July 2021, aged 85.
The mall is still listed as an asset on the website of Esas Properties, part of the Istanbul-based Esas group of companies.
Zakir Issa’s property portfolio
Mr Issa’s company, EP Properties, has a commercial property portfolio across the UK, with the only other Scottish site being Blantrye 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.
EP Property’s plans for the Bon Accord are unknown.
Mr Issa’s potential acquisition is not linked to his brothers’ EG Group or any affiliated entities, sources said.
His brothers have an estimated fortune of £4.73 billion, according to the 2022 Sunday Times Rich List.
As well as EG Group, they completed a buyout of Asda in 2020, with the backing of TDR Capital.
About the shopping centre
Bon Accord, which was built in 1990, extends to two main buildings on George Street and Union Street.
It features 460,000sq ft of retail accommodation, with 72 units over three floors, as well as 1,400 car parking spaces in two locations to the north and south of the centre.
Additional buildings on George Street, Upper Kirkgate, Loch Street and Gallowgate provide a further 90,000sq ft of retail and ancillary space, 6,300sq ft of offices, residential units, and the listed Students’ Union building.
The average annual footfall to the shopping centre pre-Covid was 15 million visitors.
A spokesman for the joint administrators said it was still business as usual at the mall, with trading continuing as normal.
He added: “There has not been a sale of the development in whole or in part. Any update will be announced in due course, if appropriate, by the joint administrators.”
All other parties were approached for comment.
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