A SHOPPING centre in Bolton has been bought up by one of America's largest property firms in a landmark deal.

Bolton Shopping Park, off Trinity Street, in the town centre has been bought by American real estate company Time Equities Inc (TEI) in a multi-million pound deal with London-based Greenridge Investment Management.

Bolton Council says this confirms the town is now an attractive investment location for companies across the world.

It is also being described as a "strong vote of confidence" in the town's regeneration plans going into the future.

The shopping park has been a mainstay of town centre retail for many years, housing a Sainsbury's, Decathlon, TK Maxx, and more.

It is reported that the firm has acquired the retail park for around $21 (£15.2) million from former owner's M&G Real Estates.

The partnership recently bought another retail park earlier this year, in Inshes Retail Park in Inverness, Scotland, with this their latest expansion into the UK.

A Bolton Council spokesman, said: "This investment by one of the USA’s largest property investment groups is confirmation that Bolton is now regarded as an attractive investment location and reflects the strong commitment Bolton Council has made to implementing Bolton Town Centre’s Regeneration Plan over recent years.

"Planned developments that have been delayed due to Covid, and related economic uncertainties, are now starting to come forward.

"Investors are also starting to sit up and take notice of the fact that Bolton Council remains committed to our regeneration plans.

"Investments such as the one made by Time Equities Inc (TEI), in partnership with London-based Greenridge Investment Management, confirm this and represent a strong vote of confidence in Bolton’s future."

Aaron Medeiros, director of acquisitions and policy at TEI, said: "This acquisition is a continuation of our expansion in the United Kingdom. We are excited to close on our second joint venture with Greenridge, and we expected to find more opportunities over the coming year to grow our partnership."

The US company said disruptions caused to the UK market due to Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic provided them an opportunity to enter the UK market ­— something they had wanted to do for a number of years, according to Mr Medeiros.

He added: "The disruptions created by Brexit and the pandemic provided us the opportunity to finally enter the UK market which we had been monitoring for the past few years.

"We were particularly attracted to the transparency and stability of the UK real estate market."

TEI is based in New York and was founded in 1966. They have an extensive portfolio across the USA as well as in Europe, including Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, according to their website.