On behalf of its client, Custodian REIT plc, Knight Frank has acquired two retail assets from La Salle IM for a combined price of £25 million.
The assets, Jubilee Retail Park in Weymouth and Evesham Shopping Park in Worcestershire, form part of Custodian’s growing retail portfolio. The UK REIT now has approximately £550 million AUM, diversified across all sectors in UK regional markets.
Anchored by B&Q and totalling 102,000 sq ft, Jubilee Retail Park is located adjacent to Weymouth’s railway station. The property comprises three retail warehouse units, including Halfords and Sports Direct.
Evesham Shopping Park, anchored by M&S Simply Food and Next plc, provides the town’s dominant Open A1 retail warehouse offer. The shopping park provides 42,299 sq ft of retail warehouse accommodation and 178 customer car parking spaces.
Andrew McGregor, Partner at Knight Frank said: “We are delighted to have identified and acquired two prime out-of-town retail assets in excellent locations for Custodian. Despite the uncertainty in the retail markets, these two assets demonstrate the key fundamentals of good geography, right rents, good covenants and best of all, strong trading platforms.”
Richard Shepherd-Cross, Fund Manager to Custodian REIT said: “These retail parks provide further diversification to Custodian REIT and over seven years of contractual income, supporting the company’s dividend policy and adding strong retail tenants to the portfolio. We expect that prime, out-of-town locations will continue to form part of the retail landscape beyond the current online vs physical retail shake-out.”
Savills plc acted for La Salle IM.