Property company Redevco has paid £72 million for the premises that were once Hanningtons department store in North Street and East Street in Brighton.
The company has just splashed out more than £14 million for 38 to 42 East Street, the premises next to the original Hanningtons estate which it bought last year.
The new addition currently houses five shops – Maje, Sandro, Estée Lauder, Lush and Pret A Manger – and offices and flats on the four floors above.
Redevco, which describes itself as a European retail real estate investment manager, bought the East Street properties from CBRE Global Investors.
Andrew Vaughan, chief executive of Redevco, said: “Redevco’s acquisition in East Street brings Brighton’s original larger Hanningtons department store back under single ownership.
“We are transforming the Hanningtons estate, a historically important retail destination, and creating a new Brighton ‘Lane’ over the next two years.
“These investments will greatly improve the shopping experience in this area for residents and visitors to the city.”
Redevco said: “Located in the heart of Brighton near the seafront, the Lanes quarter is a network of narrow alleyways and lanes that is home to an eclectic mix of boutiques and independent retailers.
“This makes Brighton a magnet for visitors seeking a ‘shopping experience’ and places it third for location demand by retailers among UK urban centres.
“The city has a primary shopping catchment area of 476,000 people, including a large student population, and a wider market of 750,000.
“Nicknamed ‘London on the sea’, Brighton attracts around eight million visitors annually who spend an estimated £410 million a year.
“Brighton also ranks 11th in the UK and 45th among cities in Europe as a ‘very good’ retail experience destination in Redevco’s ‘City Attractiveness’ research analysis.”
Hanningtons traded from 1808 until 2001. Family members included Bishop James Hannington, the first Bishop of Equatorial East Africa.
He studied at Oxford University but was apparently unsuited to business life and became a clergyman. Bishopo Hannington Memorial Church, on the corner of Holmes Avenue and Nevill Avenue, in Hove, is named after him.
