Historic Southport shopping hub under new ownership

Wayfarers Shopping Arcade, the 120-year-old retail complex in Southport, has changed hands.

The site, which has been owned for the past 40 years by property firm Lord Street Properties, was this week acquired by investment company Panther Securities PLC.

Andrew Perloff, a chairman at Panther, said: “As a substantially family-owned company, we are very keen to invest in long-standing family businesses.

“It is a great privilege to have ownership of this historic 120-year-old arcade.”

The transaction follows a string of investments in the Southport area for Panther over recent years. In 2015, Panther’s associated business, English Rose Partnerships PLC, acquired all 29 stores in the Beales Group network of retail sites, including the Beales department store in the centre of Southport.

Andrew continued: “We saw Southport as a town worthy of investment when we purchased Beales and it is a perfect fit to add Wayfarers Arcade to our portfolio.”

Lord Street Properties’ managing director, Nicola Lynch, said the sale is the “end of an area”, marking the first time in 120 years that the family behind Lord Street Properties is not involved in Southport’s retail sphere.

She explained: “My family has played a significant part in the retailing life of Southport for many, many years. Broadbents and Boothroyds and Wayfarers Arcade have been handed down through the generations.

“Lord Street Properties has spent over £2m since 2000, maintaining the arcade to the high standard it is today, ensuring it continues as the town’s most treasured shopping destination.”

Nicola added: “In Panther Securities PLC we have found a buyer we know will look after Wayfarers with as much care and attention as we have done over the years.”