Lothbury Investment Management, on behalf of Lothbury Property Trust, has disposed of its high street retail holding in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire to a private investor of Baillie Morton Investment Management, for £9.027 million.
The property at 300 High Street, Berkhamsted comprises three separate units totalling approximately 24,000 sq. ft with car parking to the rear. It is let to Marks & Spencer Simply Food, Coffee Snobs, trading as Costa Coffee, and Pizza Express, and generates a rent of £565,000 per annum. The sale represents a yield of 5.86%.
The holding is secured on relatively long leases with M&S Simply Food expiring in 2034, Pizza Express having a break clause in 2031 and Coffee Snobs in 2024.
The holding has been in the Lothbury portfolio since 2014 and the site was previously a Royal Mail sorting office. Jo Bond, Executive Director and fund manager at Lothbury Investment Management, said: “Berkhamsted has been an ideal location for Lothbury Property Trust, with a much higher than average proportion of affluent residents. However, the decision to sell is in line with the Fund’s strategy to reduce the retail weighting within the portfolio and invest in our target sectors of industrial/ logistics properties and alternative assets.
Angus Baillie, Director at Baillie Morton IM, said “To start and complete the purchase during “Lockdown” is testament to the great team effort and hard work of everyone involved. The asset strengthens our investor’s commercial property portfolio and provides long secure income in an affluent town. We continue to look for similar buying opportunities.”
Lothbury was advised by KLM Retail and the purchasers were advised by TW Keil.
