W. P. Carey Inc. acquires €25 mln of Admiral Group’s primary office in Newport (UK)

W. P. Carey Inc. announces that it has acquired the newly constructed office of Admiral Group plc in Newport, Wales for approximately €25 mln. The facility is let to Admiral Group. The seller was Scarborough Group International, the UK and international real estate investor and developer.
Admiral is a FTSE100 company and one of the UK’s largest car insurance providers with a growing international presence. For the financial year 2013, Admiral reported turnover, profit before tax and profit after tax of €2.5 bln, €469 mln and €364 mln, respectively.
The 7494 m², Class A office building was completed in May 2014 and houses more than 500 Admiral employees. The company has a strong presence in the area and has chosen the location as a key long-term operating site.
Situated in a city center location in Newport, the facility forms part of a major redevelopment of the surrounding area, which has already attracted €291 mln of private investments into the city.
20-year triple net-lease, commencing in June 2014 with a tenant break option at the end of the sixteenth year of the lease. The UK is a strong developed economy with the growth outlook continuing to improve with GDP forecast to grow by 2.5% in 2014 and 2.4% in 2015.
Jennifer Lucas, Executive Director of W. P. Carey, commented: “The transaction with Scarborough Group is consistent with our investment strategy of acquiring critical assets leased on a long-term basis to strong credit tenants and demonstrates our ability to provide liquidity to developers and owners of attractive net-leased assets. Admiral is a well-capitalised business with a long-term commitment to the facility and we are delighted to add the company to our tenant portfolio. Given the UK’s status as the second largest European economy with good growth forecasts, we are pleased to add another UK asset to our holdings.” Source:W.P.Carey www.wpcarey.com