Reit leads US$700m deal for St Regis stores

[NEW YORK] Vornado Realty Trust is leading a partnership to buy the retail portion of the St Regis Hotel on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue for about US$700 million, gaining space on one of the world's most expensive shopping corridors.

The real estate investment trust (Reit) joined with Crown Acquisitions, a New York-based property firm that specialises in retail space, in a deal for the stores, which have 100 feet of frontage on Fifth Avenue at 55th Street. The acquisition also includes an adjacent retail townhouse, Vornado said on Wednesday.

Fifth Avenue ranks behind only Hong Kong's Causeway Bay among the costliest retail locations, according to Cushman & Wakefield Inc. The St Regis space is leased to Kering SA's Gucci division for its Bottega Veneta brand, and to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, which uses its portion for a De Beers store, Vornado said. Kering's lease expires in January 2016, and LVMH's three years later.