Forestside owners buy Abbey Centre for £59m

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The owners of the Forestside shopping centre in south Belfast have bought the Abbey Centre in Newtownabbey for just under £59m.

The buyers are the Herbert Group which is owned by Belfast couple Michael and Lesley Herbert.

Last year, they also bought the Bloomfield Shopping Centre and retail park in Bangor for £22m.

The Abbey Centre was sold by New River Retail, a London-based investment trust.

Allan Lockhart, the Chief Executive of New River Retail said the company had transformed the Abbey Centre into "one of the most successful shopping centres in the region."

He added that the deal "also demonstrates the continuing improvement in investor demand for UK shopping centres".

The Herbert's built up the UK's largest KFC franchise over 40 years, before selling the chain in 2020.

They have reinvested the proceeds into commercial property where they had already significant interests.