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)

Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP, on behalf of the Cheshire Pension Fund, has acquired Maybrook Retail Park in Canterbury for £17.74 million

Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP, on behalf of the Cheshire Pension Fund, has acquired Maybrook Retail Park in Canterbury for £17.74 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.24% NIY. Located close to the centre of the historic cathedral city of Canterbury, the park was developed in 2007 and comprises 62,843 sq ft of retail accommodation in five terraced units and a stand alone retail pod. The park is let Marks and Spencer Simply Food, Halfords, Maplin, Dave Whelan Sports and KFC with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 17.8 years. Edgerley Simpson Howe advised Rockspring and Fletcher King advised the vendor, Downham Properties Limited. Phil Sturdy, European Director, said “the acquisition increases the Fund’s exposure to long term income with some fixed uplifts in an affluent South-east city with limited vacancy.” (Dec 2010)

Edgerley Simpson Howe LLP has been awarded the title of Top Managing Agent 2010 by Standard Life Investments

Edgerley Simpson Howe LLP has been awarded the title of Top Managing Agent 2010 by Standard Life Investments. Following a rigourous review process ESH came out top ahead of the Fund Managers other 6 agents. ESH manage the fund’s retail warehouse parks portfolio which currently include the flagship schemes of Castlepoint in Bournemouth, Gallions Reach in Beckton and The Water Gardens in Harlow. Mike Hannigan, Investment Director for Standard Life says: We are delighted to announce Edgerley Simpson Howe as our “Top Performing Managing Agent for 2010″. As a result of our retendering last year we selected the six best managing agents across the country. Expectations are increasing and the purpose of our annual performance assessment is to ensure continued improvement in quality of service to our tenants and investors.” Simon Marshall, Partner in Charge of Management at ESH says: Standard Life continues to set very high standards of their managing agents. At ESH the management team has worked tirelessly for 10 years to maintain these standards and we are proud to be regarded as market leaders in our field.

ESH held their annual Spoof Challenge last night and where better to escape the grim autumnal weather than downstairs at Mulligans.

ESH held their annual Spoof Challenge last night and where better to escape the grim autumnal weather than downstairs at Mulligans.  A gathering of some 60 or so retail warehouse specialists sought shelter from the wind and the rain for the annual quest to find the market’s biggest Spoofer.  Last years’ champion Mark Powell dealt easily with ESH’s rookie spoofer Dan Howie but then failed to get any further.  As the Guinness flowed and the competition progressed some of the spoofers seemed to forget the basics and played into their opponents hands.

After several hours, and even more pints, it was time for the finals.  In the plate David Hobden beat Mark Phelps in a match that was a lot closer than the 3-0 scoreline would suggest.  Then all eyes turned to the main final between Will Robertson, sporting a fine moustache and Paul Morris, recent winner of the world spoofing championships.  In a tightly fought contest Will thought he had victory but celebrated too early and under the ‘no gloating’ rule he was penalized a point so it came down to sudden death – and a victory for Paul Morris of Fletcher King.

After the presentations more Guinness flowed and there will be some sore heads in the West End on Friday morning. (Nov 2010)