"We are pleased to have found a buyer with a good track record in retail ownership and management such that Kukui Grove will continue to be an asset for Kaua'i residents and will serve their future needs," said Grove Farm CEO Warren Haruki.

Haruki said the sale will allow Grove Farm to focus on its residential real estate projects and to pay down debt that was accumulated when former AOL Time Warner chief Steve Case purchased the company in 2001.

He said that $250,000 of the sale proceeds will be donated to the Grove Farm Foundation to fund various educational, environmental and economic development charities on Kaua'i.

L&B, the Dallas unit of United Kingdom-based Old Mutual PLC, manages more than $2.6 billion worth of office, retail, industrial and residential properties worldwide.

Developed by Grove Farm in 1982, the Kukui Grove Shopping Center is Kaua'i's only regional shopping center whose tenants include Macy's, Sears, Longs and Star Markets.

Since Hurricane Iniki in 1992, Grove Farm has conducted extensive renovations on the center, including a $12 million facelift that was completed last year.

Los Angeles broker Eastdil Realty Co. handled the sale at a time Kaua'i's retail market has seen increased activity.

Earlier this year, Costco Wholesale Group announced plans for a 150,000-square-foot store on a 14-acre parcel across the street from the Kukui Grove Shopping Center, and retail developer the MacNaughton Group hired Eastdil to market a leasehold property next to Kaua'i's Kmart and Borders Books & Music stores.

Mike Hamasu, director of consulting and research at Colliers Monroe Friedlander Inc., said the Kukui Grove Shopping Center was likely sold at premium given the mall's competitive position and the "over-abundance" of interest in Hawai'i commercial properties from Mainland buyers.

During the past year, ownership of a number of Neighbor Island shopping centers has changed hands, including the Whaler's Village on Maui and the King's Shops at the Big Island's Waikoloa Beach Resort.