Quintain Estates announces sale of two assets and five acquisitions (UK)

Quintain has announced that it has made two strategic disposals, totalling £111 million with an exit yield of 6.3% and acquired five other properties with an average initial yield in excess of 8% for a total of £27.5 million.

Disposals
Quintain has completed on the sale of One Neathouse Place, London, SW1 for £67.8 million to Asticus, the UK arm of German fund, IVG. The sale price reflects a yield of 6.68% and represents a £20 million surplus on cost.

The 95,000 sq ft prime office building is principally let to BHP Billiton on a lease with eight years remaining. Following the successful conclusion of a rent review in April 2004, the total gross rental income on the property is £4.79 million per annum.

Quintain has completed the sale of The Parishes shopping centre, Scunthorpe for £43.15 million to Translloyd Developments Limited. The sale price reflects a yield of 5.4% and represents an £8.7 million surplus on cost.

The 210,535 sq ft town centre retail and leisure scheme was developed by Quintain. It opened in October 2002 and has 16 tenants, including Hennes & Mauritz, Littlewoods, Woolworths and a seven screen multiplex cinema. The current passing rent on the property is £2.4 million per annum.


Acquisitions

  • Quintain has purchased Sapphire House, Stafford Park, Telford, a long leasehold office building of 90,150 sq ft. The property is let to Tatung (UK) Ltd until 2017 at a rent reflecting £12.50 per sq ft. The price paid was £12.9 million reflecting a net initial yield of circa 8.25%.
  • Quintain has acquired the ICS Buildings in Maldon, Essex. This office and industrial complex comprises a Grade II listed converted mill office building of 41,623 sq ft and two warehouse units of 31,464 sq ft and associated parking. The purchase price of £4.2 million reflects a net initial yield of 9.88%. The property is let to ICS (‘Industrial Control Services’) Properties Ltd until June 2012 at a rent of £440,000 per annum.
  • Quintain has also acquired a warehouse unit at Foleshill Enterprise Park, Coventry totalling 94,500 sq ft. The unit is let to a subsidiary of Bowater for 25 years at a rent of £523,000 per annum. The purchase price of £6.5 million reflects an initial yield of 7.6%.
  • Quintain has acquired 14 Cathedral Road, Cardiff, a multi-let office building in the centre of Cardiff comprising 18,067 sq ft, for £2.7 million, reflecting a net initial yield of circa 8.25%. Tenants include the Velindre NHS Trust, the Prudential Assurance Company and Alfred McAlpine Construction Ltd.
  • Quintain has also purchased land adjoining the ICS site in Maldon, comprising a freehold vacant warehouse with ancillary offices of 41,727sq ft, on a site of 1.4 acres. The price paid was £1.2 million.


Commenting, Nick Shattock, property director, Quintain, said: “These acquisitions and disposals illustrate the proactive approach we take to the development and management of our assets. We originally acquired One Neathouse Place and The Parishes, Scunthorpe through the acquisition of Chesterfield Properties in 1999. Since then at Neathouse Place, active management of the asset, concluding in the successful settlement of a rent review and the resolution of an outstanding litigation with the tenant, has provided us with the right environment to secure an attractive price for this asset. At Scunthorpe, having secured significant pre-lets, we built out the scheme in joint venture with Wykeland. The decision to sell these assets reflects our strategy to reinvest the proceeds of strategic disposals back into the Company’s activities, including recent acquisitions, which we believe offer better earnings and growth potential.”

Source: Quintain Estates

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