Acting on behalf of Equitix Investment Management Limited, Cooke & Arkwright have advised on the acquisition of two prime, Grade A office buildings which are let to the Welsh Government. The transaction comprised the £29m acquisition of Ellipse, Langdon Rd, Swansea and Nexus House, Usk Way, Newport from Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), represented by Knight Frank. Fladgate provided Equitix with legal advice.
The properties provide a total of 92,000 sq ft Grade A office accommodation and are considered to be best-in-class offices in both cities. The leases benefit from attractive RPI-linked indexation in terms of the rental structure, and are considered a strong fit for Equitix’s investment criteria in terms of generating long-term, availability-based cashflows for its investors.
The acquisition of Ellipse and Nexus represents the most recent in a series of acquisitions in which Cooke & Arkwright have provided comprehensive buy-side commercial advisory services on behalf of funds managed by Equitix, with total funds invested exceeding £100m since Q1 2018. Other properties acquired include the Pearson Building, Nottingham in April 2021; King’s Court, Sheffield in April 2019; and Crickhowell House, Cardiff in January 2019.
Graham Davies, Investment director at Cooke & Arkwright said, “Each of the properties are let to a UK government-backed counterparty and demonstrating how we have identified a pipeline of high-quality properties with appropriate lease structures across which meet the specific requirements of funds managed by Equitix.
“We are currently in the process of sourcing further opportunities located across the UK on behalf of Equitix, showing the strength of the relationship that has developed over the last four years since we first successfully advised Equitix on an acquisition within this sector.”
Gareth Lloyd at Knight Frank said, “Having advised on the original acquisition of these two assets for LGIM back in 2010 we were delighted to be able to act for them again on the disposal and execute a successful disposal.”
