William Ewart, owned by Andrew Creighton and Frank Boyd, was formed when the pair acquired Dunloe Ewart's Belfast properties for over 142m. The Gyle is being sold by University Superannuation Scheme, the UK's third-largest pension fund. The fund paid £190m in 2000 for the property, which is one of Scotland's biggest retail centres.

The acquisition of the Gyle, which is to be completed within a month, will mark the continued expansion of William Ewart into the retail sector.

In 2004, the company spent over 205m to buy three British shopping centres, including one in central London. The same year it paid 37m to acquire a retail park in County Down.

John Hamilton, head of Cushman & Wakefield's Scottish operations, told the Sunday Tribune last week that there had been "a lot" of interest in the Scottish retail sector from Northern Ireland developers. He said he expects 2006 to be a "bumper" year for shopping centre sales in Scotland.

"In each of 2004 and 2005 there were about £750m in shopping centre deals done. By the end of this year I'd expect transaction totals to top £1bn, " said Hamilton. He also suggested that the shopping centre yield cycle may now be at or near its peak in Scotland.

Two other Scottish retail centres are also for sale: the Forge in Glasgow, with a price of £140m, and Cameron Toll in Edinburgh, which is expected to fetch £90m.

Last week, it was revealed that the Cosgrave property group, owned by Joe, Peter, Michael and Helen Cosgrave, paid £281m to acquire the Liberty Shopping Centre in Romford, Essex.

So far this year the Cosgrave family has spent just under £500m acquiring property in and around London.

However, there has been some surprise in property circles at the high prices paid by the Cosgraves for the retail centre. They expect to push rental yields there to 5%, although they are now at just 3.5%.

Last week too, Bank of Ireland Private Banking and Hercules Unit Trust sold London shopping centre Gallions Reach to Standard Life Investments for £192m ( 282m).