The former owners of Shrewsbury’s three main shopping centres today said that they had lost out in the multi-million pound race to buy the Darwin, Pride HIll and Riverside malls.

Charles Weeks, joint founder of Protego Real Estate Investors, claimed they had gone to a higher bid.

A spokeswoman for Savills, which is handling the sale of the 470,000 sq ft centres, today refused to confirm whether they had been sold due to “client confidentiality”.

They were put on the market in September, but were thought to be worth less than half of the £118 million paid three years ago.

It is thought that the bids ranged between £55 million and £60 million, with a joint bid between The Shearer Property Group and Ignis Asset Management believed to be one of the front-runners.

Nobody from either company was available for comment today.

Mr Weeks said: “We were trying to buy them back but we don’t think we have been successful at this stage and we think it’s gone for a higher price.”

Protego’s UK Actively Managed Shopping Centre Fund lost control earlier this year when debt managers Hatfield Philips were called in as a special servicer to the £82 million loan secured against the centres.

It followed the collapse of American bank Lehman Brothers last year. The three linked shopping centres were bought by Protego for £118 million in 2006 in a deal involving Lehman.

Management of the three centres today said the sale was a matter for Savills.