The recent sale of Romford’s The Brewery offers an “exciting opportunity” for the shopping and leisure centre, say its new owners.

In a deal worth £162 million, Schroders Capital's Schroder UK Real Estate Fund (SREF) and the Zurich Investment Foundation Immobilien Europa Direkt - which is managed by Schroders Capital - partnered up for a 50:50 purchase of the Waterloo Road site.

The Brewery contains a range of stores and restaurants, including Patisserie Valerie, Starbucks and Vue Cinema.

Jessica Berney, fund manager for SREF, Schroders Capital, said: “We will be working closely with local government planning teams to help enhance the site and this area of Romford.”

Harry Pickering, head of UK retail at Schroders Capital, added: “The Brewery is an exciting opportunity, showcasing the best of what retail warehousing should be.”

In a release, Schroders said the site “offers longer term alternative use potential, being located within the Romford Strategic Development Area”.

It confirmed that this means it could potentially use a section of the site for homes, while retaining parts of the retail and leisure space, but said it does not have any plans to do so in the near future.

The Brewery was approached for comment.