Stakeholders are not confirming or denying online reports that Romford's The Liberty shopping centre is up for sale.

Online real estate publication and analytics provider CoStar first ran a story claiming CBRE Group, an American real estate services and investment company, had been “mandated” to sell The Liberty for £80 million.

CoStar has now reported that RivingtonHark, a property developer based in London, has taken pole position in the race to purchase the Romford site.

This newspaper has been attempting to corroborate the information, but The Liberty, CBRE, RivingtonHark, and Global Mutual - which manages The Liberty - have all ignored the Recorder’s repeated requests for comment over the last few weeks.

In its most recent article, CoStar described “a strong bidder list has underscored growing appetite for large UK malls”.

This news comes after the recent sale of another Romford shopping centre, The Brewery, to investment firm Schroders Capital.

While Tom Woolven, investment manager for Schroders Capital UK Real Estate Fund, told this paper the intention is for The Brewery to remain “an attractive destination for tenants and shoppers”, there is concern that long-term the site will be opened up for residential developments.