A FLAGSHIP retail outlet in the centre of Glasgow has been snapped up in a multi-million pound deal.

German investors have splashed out £21.5 million for a retail block in Argyle Street which is leased by the giant US retail chain TK Maxx.

Warburg-Henderson, a Hamburg-based business venture, is the new owner of 36-48 Argyle Street, part of Glasgow's famous Style Mile.

The owner is one of Europe's biggest property fund managers, which has been expanding its portfolio of properties in the international retail sector.

The deal comes just weeks after department store chiefs at Selfridges sold their vacant site nearby at Candleriggs for tens of millions of pounds.

The latest big money deal was sealed by London-based TIAA Henderson Real Estate. The German investors have acquired a retail block offering more than 8000 sq m of floor space with a guaranteed annual income of more than £1m.

TK Maxx operates a massive store on the prime site and currently stumps up £1.3m in rent a year.

But that is due to increase substantially from August next year to £1.47m.

Martin Payne, a fund manager at TIAS Henderson Real Estate, (THRE) said: "This deal represents a rare opportunity to acquire a modern retail block in one of the UK's premier retail locations."

THRE was advised by property consultancy Frank Knight LLP. Associate Andrew Shiells reckons it underlines the city's retail status.

He commented: "The purchase highlights investor confidence that Glasgow is, and will remain, one of the UK's strongest retail destinations."

The Argyle Street store is the flagship outlet in Scotland for TK Maxx, which operates more than 1000 stores in the US.

It has more than 300 stores across Britain, Ireland, Germany and Poland.

Apart from clothes and shoes, the chain also sells an extensive range of home and designer products.

gordon.thomson@eveningtimes.co.uk