JR Smart’s new development at Capital Quarter in Cardiff is strengthening an already buoyant office investment market, with increased investor appetite for quality properties in the surrounding area.
Regional property investor Bridgevale Properties Ltd has seized the opportunity to acquire the long leasehold investment of 1-3 Raleigh Walk, a purpose-built, three storey interlinked office complex in one of the city’s fastest-improving office areas, adjacent to where JR Smart’s new development is under construction.
The 5,940 sq ft property is currently 78% occupied, with tenants including Penguin Wealth, Capita Business Services, Kennson Ltd and Menshen Packaging UK Ltd, and generates a rental income of £39,496 per annum rising to £50,679 in 2017. Two smaller open plan suites of 655 sq ft remain available.
Bridgevale acquired the long leasehold of the property with 974 years unexpired for £386,501, representing a net initial yield of 9.8%.
Owen Young, partner at Alder King in Cardiff which acted for the vendor, said: “The value of investment transactions in Cardiff increased last year to £209 million, a rise of nearly 60%, as investors sought value outside the over-heated London market. We’ve seen very strong demand for prime properties in the city and increasingly good levels of demand for secondary and fringe properties such as this one.
“Bridgevale recognised this property’s potential for rental and capital growth through further investment and proactive management. Over the next three to five years, this part of the city centre will undergo the most dramatic transformation with the development aspirations of JR Smart at Capital Quarter, and this will have a ripple effect on the value of this and other neighbouring properties in the prime office district.”
Raleigh Walk was developed in the early 1990s and comprises three terraced units in pleasant landscaped surroundings.
Units 1 and 2 on the first floor of the property are vacant, each providing 655 sq ft of accommodation and two car parking spaces.
