The privately owned global property group - which works with wealth managers and other clients - says one of its trophy properties in Shanghai has opened for business.

Global property firm Grosvenor Fund Management, which recently hired a former top UBS executive for its Asia-Pacific business, has announced a move likely to be a hit with children as much as – it hopes – with investors.

The international real estate firm announced recently that Merlin Entertainments is to open its first LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre in Shanghai, China, next year, at the Parkside Plaza area of the city. This area was acquired by Grosvenor, on behalf of the Grosvenor Vega China Retail Fund, in 2010.

The centre is described as a “unique indoor attraction offering a fun, highly interactive and educational two-to-three hour experience specifically designed for families with children three to 10 years old”.

Parkside Plaza is a 126,000 square meter family-oriented community mall. Anchor tenants include a Tesco supermarket, a 1,600 seat cinema and retailers such as H&M, C&A, Uniqlo, Esprit and Mango. Parkside Plaza’s restaurant offering includes a variety of international and local Chinese cuisines.

At the start of April, Grosvenor appointed a former senior UBS executive, Benjamin Cha, as its Asia-Pacific chief executive, the group’s Asia-based proprietary arm.