Investor adds Edinburgh’s Morningside Waitrose to shopping basket

The home of the Morningside branches of Waitrose and Kwik Fit in Edinburgh has been sold in a deal that exceeded the £18.15 million asking price.

Located at 145 Morningside Road and 7-13 Falcon Road, the branches of Waitrose and Kwik-Fit are among both brands’ strongest trading locations. Waitrose occupies 33,347 sq. ft. of retail space, while Kwik-Fit leases the adjoining 12,795 sq. ft. garage.

Knight Frank acted for the purchaser, a client of DTZ Investors, and the property was sold by a client of LaSalle, represented by Savills.

Knight Frank LLP is the leading independent global property consultancy, serving as our clients’ partners in property for 128 years. Headquartered in London, Knight Frank has more than 20,000 people operating from 600 offices across 50 territories.

The Group advises clients ranging from individual owners and buyers to major developers, investors and corporate tenants.

Last month, Knight Frank said that investment in Scottish commercial property firmed up in the third quarter, reaching £1.21 billion for the year to date, as political stability following the election and a first cut to interest rates created a more stable backdrop. Retail was the most active sector, with £446 million of deals.

Euan Kelly, capital markets partner at Knight Frank Edinburgh, said: “Both Waitrose and Kwik-Fit trade exceptionally well from their Morningside locations, with little in the way of nearby competition and an affluent local population.

Broadly speaking, supermarkets are performing well, supported by solid fundamentals and long-term average growth of 4.1% in grocery sales, and we’re seeing strong demand from investors for these types of assets.”

He added: “More generally, the Scottish commercial property investment market has solidified in the last few months. While there is less stock available than we perhaps expected going into the tail end of the year, it is shaping up to be a busy first half to 2025, assuming the macro-environment remains stable and interest rates continue on their current trajectory.”

Ewan Stewart, Acquisitions Manager, DTZ Investors, said “We are delighted to complete on this acquisition. The fundamentals of the long leases to tenants with strong trading performance in an affluent neighbourhood in central Edinburgh are exactly where we are looking to invest. We look forward to doing further acquisitions with similar fundamentals.”