A retail park due to open later this year in Birmingham has been bought by M&G Real Estate for £94 million.

The property investor has acquired Selly Oak Shopping Park which is being developed on the old Battery Park site near Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The seller is Harvest Partnership, a joint venture between property investor Landsec and supermarket chain Sainsbury's which is opening a new store on the retail park to replace its unit in nearby Chapel Lane.

Once completed, the scheme will have 190,000 sq ft of retail space with pre-let deals already agreed with brands such as Marks & Spencer, JD Sports, Superdrug and Nandos.

There will also be work to the highways system and improvements to the canal side.

Andrew Dudley, head of retail development at Landsec, said: "The scheme has seen strong demand for retail space and will offer a high-quality mix of brands for local consumers.

"Having de-risked the scheme with a 91 per cent pre-let, this sale enables us to crystallise value on this development."

A planned student accommodation block on the site with 418 bedrooms was sold last year by Harvest Partnership to Unite for £37 million.

Landsec will continue to develop both the retail units and student flats and then exit both parts of the scheme upon practical completion.

Selly Oak Shopping Park is due to be completed this autumn and the student halls in summer 2019.

The purchase has been carried out as a joint venture partnership between M&G Real Estate and West Yorkshire Pension Fund.

The fund's property investment manager Louise Warden said: "This high-quality asset provides a secure income stream for our members in line with the pension funds' long-term objectives and has the added advantage of providing socio-economic benefits to Birmingham and the UK.

"We are delighted to have again partnered with the experienced team at M&G Real Estate on this transaction."

Lucy Williams, business development director at M&G Real Estate, added: "We are very pleased to cement our relationship further with West Yorkshire Pension Fund, helping them to meet their long term objectives through providing access to high-quality UK real estate, delivering sustainable and growing income streams."