The Keiller Centre in Dundee has changed hands in a £750,000 deal.
Tenants at the shopping centre have been informed that Moontrace Limited has sold the centre to a newly formed company, Dundee 1881 Limited.
The sale price represents a significant loss in value for Moontrace, which is a subsidiary of London-based Prime Commercial Properties Ltd.
The Keiller Centre previously sold for £5.1 million in December 2005 and £3.75m in January 2004.
Companies House records shows Dundee 1881 Limited was incorporated in October last year 2023 with the purpose of owning, letting and managing real estate.
The company is registered in Edinburgh and is wholly owned by Rory Milne, who has been a director in dozens of other property companies.
The transaction completed on April 23.
Keiller centre changes
The Keiller Shopping Centre was built in 1979 on the site of the former Keiller confectionary factory, which closed in 1971.
The shopping arcade was bustling with businesses in the 1980s but has since seen decades of decline.
It briefly changed its name to the Forum Centre in 1989, though locals continued to call it the Keiller Centre.
In recent years it has become a location for arts events, starting with Dundee Design Festival in 2019.
In 2022, Dundee gallery owner Kathryn Rattray took over the running of the centre, vowing to “make the Keiller Centre great again”.
She said: “It’s business as usual.”
Last year, people were asked to submit ideas for the future of the shopping centre.
In December and January, it hosted The Evening Telegraph’s Dundonian photo exhibition.
Keiller Centre potential in Dundee 2050 plan
The future of The Keiller Centre was previously discussed in Dundee City Council’s Dundee 2050 report, which considered the future of the city centre.
It stated the Keiller Centre site has “great potential to contribute more to activity, vibrancy and the local economy”.
It said there was potential to create a space blending outdoot spaces, with arts and food and drink offering to create the Dundee equivalent of Covent Garden.
The strategic investment plan said: “The council is open to and supportive of opportunities which will secure the future of the centre.
“In the event that the centre owners wish to consider a comprehensive redevelopment of the site, including refurbishment or wholesale demolition, the council will support them to explore this.
“The council will continue to explore conceptual ideas and uses that could transform the entire Keiller Centre and the surrounding courtyard spaces into a positive and welcoming destination, providing a unique opportunity to establish a new cultural destination or food court.”
The latest change in ownership of a Dundee shopping centre comes just a year after the Overgate Shopping Centre also changed hands.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group acquired the building from Legal & General for a sale price of around £30m.
Work to transform the former Debenhams department store into a Frasers and Sports Direct is now under way.
Moontrace Ltd and Dundee 1881 Ltd were asked to comment.
