AEW UK Long Lease REIT plc (“the Company”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of an Audi showroom in Huddersfield and Bramall Court in Manchester for a total of £17.2m. The acquisitions reflect net initial yields of 5.89% and 5.35% respectively.
The Audi dealership is located in the Trident Business Park in Huddersfield, a prime motor retail location. The 29,345 sq ft purpose built facility includes a showroom, offices, workshop and valeting facilities and was purchased for £6.3m. The recently refurbished property is let to VW Group UK and provides a weighted average unexpired lease term of 7.7 years to expiry.
Bramall Court, a 94,290 sq ft student accommodation block, was purchased for £10.9m. The asset is located on Cannon Street, 0.8 miles east of the main campus of the University of Salford and one mile from Manchester City Centre. The asset is let to Mears Group plc on a 24-year unexpired lease with annual rent reviews linked to CPI.
Alex Short, Director of AEW UK Investment Management LLP, and Portfolio Manager of the Company said: “We are delighted to have completed these acquisitions, further broadening the diversity of our investments. We continue to look for opportunities to create shareholder value through targeting alternative property sectors.”
The transactions increase the total amount invested by AEW UK Long Lease REIT plc since listing to £66.2m. In addition to this, the Manager has a further 11 assets under offer and expects to make additional announcements in the coming weeks.
AEW UK Long Lease REIT plc raised £80.5m from institutional and retail investors at its IPO in June and at that time it stated its expectation to substantially invest the net proceeds within nine months of listing. The Company is targeting an annual dividend of 5.5 pence per share paid quarterly, once fully invested and levered, with an ambition to grow in line with UK inflation (RPI or CPI) thereafter.
The Company entered the REIT regime with effect from 13 October 2017 following the submission of the application to HM Revenue and Customs.
