Savills IM Purchases Matalan, Bury St Edmunds

Advised by ESH, Savills IM Charities Fund has acquired the Matalan unit on Eastlea Road, Bury St Edmunds. The property totals approximately 31,000 sq ft with 155 car parking spaces on a site of circa 2.4 acres. Matalan are secured on a lease for a further 12 years at a rent of less than £10.00 per sq ft and the property was acquired for £4.36 million reflecting a net initial yield of 6.90%.

June 2017

Aberdeen Asset Management fund Reading Gateway site from Kier

ESH provided advise to Aberdeen Asset Management on their forward funding of the 80% pre-let Reading Gateway site in Reading.  

The 109,000 sq ft mixed-use gateway scheme secured a number of significant pre-lets including a 120 bed Premier Inn & Beefeater Restaurant, a 20,000 sq ft Toys R Us, a 20,000 sq ft Wren Living, a Costa drive through unit and a drive through Burger King restaurant.

The investment provides a WAULT of 16.5 years and 48% of income is subject to indexed linked uplifts. The scheme also includes two vacant retail units of 6,000 sq ft and 8,500 sq ft which are being marketed by joint agents Lambert Smith Hampton and Edgerley Simpson Howe.

The development is scheduled to reach practical completion in September 2018 and will provide a significant retail and leisure experience, in a prominent location adjacent to Junction 11 of M4 and in close proximity to Green Park and The Madjeski Stadium.

There will also be two future phases on the Reading Gateway site, which do not form part of the forward funding. These phases consist of two car showrooms and a 12 unit trade counter scheme which will be delivered under Kier’s Trade City brand.

May 2017

DRIP REIT acquires Kew Retail Park in Southport]

Aberdeen and Edinburgh based Drum Income Plus Real Estate Investment Trust (DRIP REIT) has acquired Kew Retail Park in Southport for £8.65 million taking the DRIP REIT portfolio to 10 regional UK investment properties with a gross asset value of £58 million.

The 53,858 square foot investment is currently occupied by Poundstretcher, Carpetright, Wickes, Carphone Warehouse, Dreams and Sofology. The purchase price reflects an acquisition yield of 8.78% and bolsters DRIP REIT’s presence in the North West, where it already has office investments in Cheadle and Manchester.

Welcoming the acquisition, DRIP REIT’s Chairman John Evans said: “By adding Kew Retail Park to the DRIP REIT portfolio we are maintaining the momentum that has been created since our first acquisition in August 2015. We are securing regional properties that fit with our differentiated investment strategy of focusing on assets between £2m and £15m which offer opportunities to add value.

“The positive yield differential that these assets enjoy over larger and more London and South East located assets persists, and we believe that the outlook for the regional property market in the UK remains strong, underpinned by high levels of occupational demand and a shortage of supply.

“Our experienced management team will continue to follow an asset management strategy that will drive rental growth and maximise additional income opportunities, offering investors an attractive blend of income return and capital growth.”

DRIP REIT is an income-focused real estate fund targeting regional commercial property assets, principally in the office, retail and industrial sectors where there is an opportunity to increase income and capital returns via entrepreneurial proactive asset management and risk-controlled development.

Drum Real Estate Investment Management’s Managing Director, Bryan Sherriff added: “This new addition at Southport provides us with geographical depth across sectors in the portfolio. We are fully engaged in delivering numerous value-added opportunities across the assets and are also paying a dividend ahead of what was stated in the initial prospectus.

“The asset management ethos is already delivering tangible results with significant valuation uplift across the portfolio in excess of £2 million.”

ESH advised Drum Income Plus REIT

ESH acquires DFS in Maidstone
on behalf of Helix

ESH has acquired a standalone
DFS unit in Maidstone on behalf Daily Mail Pension Fund (c/o Helix) from London
Metric for £11.973M, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.50%.

AXA, advised by ESH, originally purchased the open A1 non-food retail park in 2009 for £11.5million and have since vastly improved the property fundamentals through extensive asset management.
AXA extended, sub-divided and re-let the former Wickes unit and developed additional space on the scheme. The overall annual income has improved to £1.7million with the new lettings and the scheme now provides an average weighted unexpired term of over 7 years including breaks. The retail park is fully let to multi-national operators Dunelm, Pets at Home, Hobbycraft, Poundstretcher, Smyths Toys, Poundland and Costa Coffee. ESH represented AXA on their disposal and the property was purchased by Plymouth City Council.

The Metric Income Plus Limited Partnership (MIPP), a joint venture between LondonMetric and the Universities Superannuation Scheme, has bought a B&Q warehouse in Hull and a Wickes warehouse in Dartford for £18.4m.

The deals reflect a blended net initial yield (NIY) of 6.8%.
The 71,000 sq ft B&Q store in Hull has been bought from Stobart Group and Roebuck Asset Management for £9.4 million, reflecting a NIY of 7.5%. The unit is let at £0.75 million p.a. with an unexpired lease term of 12 years.
The disposal is one of the last assets within the Moneypenny portfolio and now only two remain since Stobart Group’s acquisition in 2012.
The 40,000 sq ft Wickes retail warehouse in Dartford has been bought from a private investor for £9m. Simultaneous with the purchase, MIPP has granted a new 20 year lease to Wickes at a rent of £600,000 a year. The reflects a NIY of 6.2%.
MIPP was advised by Knight Frank on both deals and also by Beaton Associates on Dartford. Edgerley Simpson Howe represented Stobart and Roebuck.