Developer acquires clothing chain

A developer has gobbled up clothing chain Lord & Taylor. NRDC Equity Partners, a partnership between Apollo Real Estate Advisers and National Realty & Development Corporation, said it has no plans to close stores or layoff employees. The acquisition is another example of real estate developers acquiring struggling retail brands in the hopes of a turnaround but with the underlying value of the real estate as protection should things not work out. more [Post]