British Land has reignited talks to sell a large stake in its flagship £1.4bn ($2.3bn) Meadowhall shopping centre in the north of England. A London-listed property fund, backed by an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, is seen as frontrunner to secure the deal.

The shopping centre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, comprises almost a tenth of British Land's property portfolio. Meadowhall was valued at £1.4bn at the end of September according to the UK property company's most recent set of accounts, representing a net equivalent yield of 5.7 per cent.