Aviva Investors divests UK designer outlets to Frasers Group

Aviva Investors has completed the sale of its York and East Midlands Designer Outlet Centres to Frasers Group.

York Designer Outlet

The divestment is part of a broader strategy to redirect capital into high-growth areas such as single-family housing and urban logistics, with a particular focus on expanding its investments in the UK living sector.

Having owned the outlets since 2006, Aviva Investors achieved a strong return on their long-term performance. The York Designer Outlet spans 23,225 m² with 120 retail units, while the East Midlands Designer Outlet—developed on a former mining site—features more than 65 units across 15,793 m² and draws approximately 3.5 million visitors annually.

Aviva Investors is aiming to increase its investment in the UK living sector to over 25 per cent of its overall real estate portfolio, building on its UK single-family housing platform, which has already funded more than 1,500 new homes, comprising a portfolio of more than £1 bn (€1.17 bn).

James Stevens, head of Global Real Estate Equity at Aviva Investors, said: “This strategic disposal represents one of our biggest real estate sales in recent years. It locks in a strong performance outcome for our investors and gives us fresh capital to redeploy into high conviction sectors such as UK residential. In the last three years, we have actively increased our exposure to the living sector with the intention of growing that to over 25% of the overall real estate portfolio.”

Aviva Investors was represented by Morgan Williams.