We continue to encourage investors to pursue retail and shopping centre investment and development. We have always believed in the performance characteristics of shopping centres as part of a balanced portfolio and know that superior performance can be generated by hard work and skilled asset management.

We have been involved with both the acquisition and disposal of existing shopping centre investments as well as the funding of major development projects, perhaps the most complicated form of investment in the property sector.

Such transactions need specialist retail knowledge and our dedicated retail team within International Investment provides this. Our track record and experience in the sector has allowed us to advise on and asset manage schemes not only throughout the UK but also abroad in Spain, Greece and Italy.

We advised Deka in their acquisition of the 60,000 sq m St Enoch Centre in Glasgow for £160 million, and then worked up and executed a major extension and refurbishment of the project. We then advised and conducted the recent sale at £272 million generating considerable profits as a result. We continue to advise Deka in their funding of Mahon Point in Cork, which opened in 2005, as well as asset managing the Diagonal Mar centre in Barcelona leading to its sale at £325 million recently.

We also advise CGI on their development of both Victoria Square in Belfast and White City in London. Victoria Square is the largest ever funding in Northern Ireland and involves the complete redevelopment of a major part of Belfast City Centre. White City is the largest ever funding transaction in the UK and involves a major transport infrastructure project as well as a 150,000 sq m retail scheme. On both schemes we advise the fund on all matters relating to the transaction, development funding and letting.