The former Borders unit at the interchange of Portway / Grafton Street, Milton Keynes has been let to Cotswold Outdoor on a 10 year lease.

The former Border unit at the interchange of Portway / Grafton Street, Milton Keynes has been let to Cotswold Outdoor on a 10 year lease at an inital rent of £280,000 pa. The 15,684 sq ft unit, with a further 4,960 sq ft mezzanine has been vacant since Borders entered administration in 2009. This is to become a flagship store for Cotswold Outdoor, with concessions granted to Costa Coffee, Up and Running and Trek Cycles.

Tim Hornor of Edgerley Simpson Howe advised Associated British Foods Pension Fund.

CB Richard Ellis Investors, advised by Edgerley Simpson Howe, has purchased the freehold interest in the Staples unit in Epsom

CB Richard Ellis Investors, advised by Edgerley Simpson Howe, has purchased the freehold interest in the Staples unit, East Street, Epsom for the Pfizer Pension Fund. The purchase price of £4,700,000 represents a net initial yield of 5.92%. The property comprises a stand alone retail warehouse of 13,762 sq ft situated close to the town centre and fronting the A24 East Street. The lease has a further 10 years unexpired and the passing rent equates to £21.40 per sq ft with the 2010 rent review outstanding. Fund Manager Richard Dean of CBREI comments ‘Epsom is a strong town with a very limited supply of retail warehousing and we believe this is a good opportunity off a sensible base rent and with a favourable planning consent.’ The vendor was a private client represented by Miles Commercial. (Feb 2011)

ESH, acting on behalf of Aviva Investors, have let a unit on Centaurus Retail Park at Cribbs Causeway to US electrical retailer Best Buy.

ESH, acting on behalf of Aviva Investors, have let a unit on Centaurus Retail Park at Cribbs Causeway to US electrical retailer Best Buy. The deal represents Best Buy’s seventh sotre in the UK after Thurroock, Hedge End, Merry HIll, Aintree, Croydon and Derby. The unit comprising 39,934 sq ft has been let on a new 10 year lease at a rent eqauting to £31.00 per sq ft. Nick Howe of ESH said ‘Cribbs Causeway is the dominant out of town retail destination for the south west of England and this is a good deal for Aviva and gives Best Buy good store in an important location.’ Other occupiers in the area include John Lewis, Asda Walmart, Tesco Homeplus, Toys R Us, Halfords, TK Maxx and Maplin.

Schroders Exempt Property Unit Trust (SEPUT), advised by Edgerley Simpson Howe (ESH) have bought Hall Road Retail Park, Norwich.

Schroders Exempt Property Unit Trust (SEPUT), advised by Edgerley Simpson Howe (ESH) have bought Hall Road Retail Park, Norwich. The 145,751 sq ft retail park is let to Homebase, Pets at Home, Aldiss and Bennetts at rents ranging from £12.47 – £15.91 per sq ft. Jo Duffield of ESH said “We have been looking to buy this park for SEPUT for some time, originally from Targetfollow. The various asset management opportunities makes it an interesting investment, notwithstanding the excellent income profile with circa 55% of the income secured to Homebase for a further 15 years. The eventual deal struck with Deloittes, acting as administrators, was performed in a tight time frame with both sides working exceptionally hard to see the transaction through to a swift conclusion.” Ian Mason, SEPUT’s Fund Manager added “We are delighted to have secured this asset for SEPUT, as it is one of only a few we have seen in the current market that fits our investment model. The Park occupies a dominant out of town location in a City with a strong catchment. It not only gives our investors the strong income characteristics they need in the short term, but more importantly the low rental base and known retailer demand for the scheme present some interesting and deliverable asset management opportunities moving forward.” Edgerley Simpson Howe advised SEPUT; Deloittes LLP acted as the administrators for Targetfollow.

ISIS Property Trust commits to Bury – Jan ’11
ISIS Property Trust has bought a retail warehouse at Halls Mill Retail Park, Foundry Street, Bury for £7.05m, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.95%.

ISIS Property Trust has bought a retail warehouse at Halls Mill Retail Park, Foundry Street, Bury for £7.05m, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.95%. The acquisition has been made by way of a forward commitment with completion expected to take place in May 2011. The 35,000 sq ft warehouse incluses 135 car parking spaces. The property is held freehold and has been let to three tenants, Dreams, Pets at Home and Smyths Toys (UK), on full repairing and insuring terms, by way of 15 year leases with five year upward only rent reviews. Edgerley SImpson Howe acted for ISIS Property Trust and Savills acted for the vendor Peveril Securities Ltd. (Jan 2011)

Standard Life, represented by ESH, have sold their freehold interest in a three unit retail park on Myton Road, Leamington Spa to Cornerstone.

Standard Life, represented by ESH, have sold their freehold interest in a three unit retail park on Myton Road, Leamington Spa to Cornerstone. The purchase price of £6,575,000 represents a net initial yield of 5.59% and is a reflection of a competitive bidding process. Thew property comprises 17,200 sq ft and is occupied by Dreams, Pets at Home and Blockbuster with lease expiries in 2020. Rents range from £22.50 – £23.00 psf although two of the units have reviews outstanding. The planning consent is for open A1 non food uses. (Jan 2011)