Keighley's Airedale Shopping Centre has been sold for £45 million.

It is the third time in as many years that ownership of the prime precinct has changed.

The new bosses say initiatives are in the pipeline to benefit shoppers.

The town-centre site is among three shopping centres bought -- for a total of £100 million -- from Boultbee Land, by a powerful partnership. The other two complexes are both near Birmingham.

Behind the purchases are private investment company CIT and Europa Fund.

Matthew Horgan -- director of acquisitions with CIT -- said the company saw tremendous potential in all three shopping centres, which together contain over 450,000 sq ft of retail accommodation.

The Airedale Centre is the largest, with retail space totalling 193,000 sq ft.

He said: "We see very good opportunities in these high-footfall town-centre shopping centres, characterised by high occupancy levels and affordable rents, to drive value by active asset management."

Mr Horgan added that improvements were planned at the Keighley site but that it was too early to elaborate.

He said: "We have a number of physical and tenant-mix initiatives for implementation in the short to medium term for the benefit of shoppers."

London-based CIT specialises in property acquisition, asset management and development.

It manages real estate assets in the UK, Far East and United States and its portfolio -- valued at over £1 billion -- includes offices, shopping centres, hotels and residential accommodation.

Europa Fund invests capital throughout the European Union.

Of the 85 retail units in the Airedale Centre, all but one -- which is to let -- are occupied.

The centre -- which attracts around 150,000 visitors a week -- was bought by REIT Asset Management, in February, 2002, for £30 million,

It was sold on to Boultbee ten months later for a figure quoted at "over £30 million".