LondonMetric Property announces that it has sold its Morrisons food store in Loughborough for ca. €37.7m (£32.5m), reflecting a NIY of 4.25%.
LondonMetric acquired the asset for c. €19.5m (£16.8m) in 2010 at a NIY of 5.72% and recently completed a comprehensive refurbishment and 12,000 ft² extension at a cost of c. €9.2m (£7.9m). Morrisons subsequently entered into a new 25 year lease in January 2017 on the extended 55,000 ft² store at an annual rent of c. €1.7m (£1.5m) pa with contractual RPI uplifts.
The sale to a UK Pension Fund will complete in March 2018 at a price 11% above last reported book value and crystallises a profit on cost of 26%.
Andrew Jones, Chief Executive of LondonMetric, commented: "The lease regear and extension at Loughborough demonstrates our ability to partner with retailers to create value through our asset management and development capabilities. This is a very good asset that has generated attractive income and capital returns and the pricing reflects the strong institutional demand for long let income with guaranteed income growth.”
LondonMetric was advised by Wilkinson Williams. Allsop advised the purchaser.
