One of the most high-profile investment opportunities in the UK at the moment must be retailer Kingfisher's sale and leaseback of 180 Woolworths Stores, with which it aims to raise £500 million sterling, prior to selling or demerging the Woolworths business.
And if the move is successful, Kingfisher's property arm, Chartwell Land, may sell off its 3.5 million sq ft of retail warehousing. Chartwell has appointed C B Hillier Parker and Credit Suisse First Boston as advisers in the proposed deal.
Kingfisher is known to be holding talks with interested parties over the sale of both its Woolworths and Superdrug chains.
It is believed that Kruidvat, the private Dutch pharmacy chain, could snap up Superdrug for around £270 million.
Kingfisher, which also owns Comet and B&Q, is in the process of breaking itself in two, splitting general merchandise - including Woolworths and Superdrug - from its core DIY and electrical shops.
Meanwhile, a clutch of other investment opportunities are available in the UK, ranging from high-profile, prime London sites to multi-million pound portfolios in the regions.
In the south west, the £1.6 billion Avon pension fund run by Bath & North East Somerset Council is disposing of £40 million in UK property assets. Agent GVA Grimley has been appointed to help with the disposal.
The fund's withdrawal from direct property is mainly due to the small size of the portfolio and the cost of management.
Still in the south-west, a redevelopment/investment opportunity exists for the ABC cinema on Whiteladies Road, in Bristol, which is due to close at the end of this year. The listed cinema looks likely to be turned into a leisure centre following its disposal. It is being sold with a covenant preventing the building from being used as a cinema again.
Such restrictive covenants have become standard in disposing of local cinemas, so that chains are protected from potential local competition.
Meanwhile, Royal London Mutual is to dispose of its portfolio of 106 UK-wide offices following the insurance company's merger with United Friendly Assurance last year. Lambert Smith Hampton is managing London Mutual's disposal programme. The offices range in size from 1,000 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft.
Further opportunities include Vodafone's plans to sell 30 office freeholds and leases in Newbury when its 500,000 sq ft HQ is completed next year.
The offices provide over 200,000 sq ft of space and the telecoms giant hopes to dispose of the units separately.
Sizes range from 12,500 sq ft to 43,000 sq ft in Emerald House, and 44,000 sq ft at Rivergate, both at the Newbury business park.
In the West End of London, Wellcome Trust is believed to be on the brink of disposing of the £70 million Time & Life building on the corner of Bruton Street and Bond Street, W1 - in an off-market deal.
Agent Healey and Baker is believed to be handling the sale. Both Marconi and Hermes occupy the 63,000 sq ft building.
Meanwhile, German investor Karl Pepper's 199,843 sq ft Millennium Bridge House in east London is also being sold by Healey & Baker. It is seeking offers of over £93 million, which will show a net initial yield of 7.19 per cent. Occupied by Old Mutual, the property is underlet to SBCI Investment Banking for 25 years, expiring in 2013.
Still in East London, Structadene is selling 26-28 Ely Place, EC1 for £5.75 million - less than six months after buying the building for £4.1 million. The office scheme comprises 14,289 sq ft. Agents Richard Susskind & Co and Ashwell Rogers are seeking a tenant.
