A MAJOR part of Reading’s town centre which includes Harris Arcade and three popular cocktail bars has been taken on by an investment company.

The company, AEW UK, has bought the section of the town centre for £9 million, which contains bars, shops and offices.

AEW now possesses County House, which is the home of Pitcher & Piano and Q Club, the town’s characterful Harris Arcade, and other connected buildings, one of which is the home of Revolution – the 14th best place to eat in Reading according to the review site TripAdvisor.

Harris Arcade is a character location in Reading with a series of small shopping units, however many of them are vacant.

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The Grumpy Goat craft cheese and drinks shop was a draw for shoppers in the arcade, but it moved out to Union Street in 2020, taking over from Quantum Cafe.

Current occupants include Zorba’s Shisha & Kebab and the Shave & Coster tobacconists.

Reading Chronicle: Harris Arcade in Reading. The building which houses it has been snapped up by property investment company AEW for £9 million. Credit: Local Democracy Reporting Service / Oliver SirrellHarris Arcade in Reading. The building which houses it has been snapped up by property investment company AEW for £9 million. Credit: Local Democracy Reporting Service / Oliver Sirrell

In total, AEW has acquired 66,047sq ft of floor space in the town centre, with one of the buildings benefiting from an underground car park.

The company stated that it wants to “drive further value” for its ‘asset’ in Reading through “active asset management”.

AEW also acquired a site in Dundee for £4.55 million, a part of  Camperdown Leisure Park, and now owns units occupied by Cineworld, McDonalds, KFC, Nandos and Premier Inn.

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Hailing the acquisitions which total £13.55 million, AEW director Ed Long said: “We are pleased to have acquired two more assets with very attractive fundamentals that aim to provide investors with high quality returns.

“Both assets are in strong core locations, which will provide our tenants with high footfall, and stable customer flow.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service sought further information from AEW UK to provide a list of the shops and restaurants that it has become the landlord of, as well as where the underground car park is, but it declined this request.