Henderson Global Investor's £180 million (approx. 204.8 million) UK Property Fund (HUKPF), has rebalanced its portfolio with a number of transactions.
In Fulham, it has sold 'The Point', 210 New Kings Road, a 24,000-ft² (approx. 2,200-m²) office, to a neighboring special purpose entity for £7.7 million (8.7 million), reflecting a 4.4% initial yield. Henderson undertook a comprehensive refurbishment of the property in 2008. The capital will be reinvested into a Central London office which is currently under offer.
Meanwhile, in East Kilbride, the Fund has exchanged contracts to sell the 150,000-ft² Langlands Industrial Estate to Helical Bar for an agreed price of £6 million. Henderson recognized an opportune time to sale the asset, having recently decreased the void rate at the site from 30% to 12.5%. The capital from this sale will be reinvested into a retail warehouse at Cardiff Bay.
Separately, on behalf of one of its private institutional clients, Henderson has purchased a 16,000-ft² prime retail unit on the High Street in Winchester, from LaSalle Investment Management. The price reflects a net initial yield of 5.25%.
Cameron Fraser, fund manager for the Henderson UK Property Fund, commented: "These transactions are firmly in line with our investment strategy and we are confident that we will be able to maximize return from the reinvested capital on behalf of our investors.
"Our strategy for the Fund is very much opportunity driven as we react quickly to the latest market trends and dynamics on an ongoing basis.
"The choice of assets reflects Henderson's current views on the UK market for which it is forecasting strong performance across the Central London office market, prime high street and retail warehouses. These sectors have a positive rental story, and coupled with Henderson's proven expertise in these sectors and quality asset management will continue to benefit from longer-term healthy investor market interest. "
In Fulham, Anthony Duguid Associates acted for the vendor. HGI acted for itself. At East Kilbride, LSH acted for the vendor and Knight Frank acted for HGI. MMX Retail acted for HGI in Winchester.
Source: Henderson Global Investors
