Supermarket Income REIT, the UK supermarket real estate investor, announces that it has acquired the freehold of the Sainsbury’s Bybrook Superstore in Ashford, Kent, from National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society for c. €86.8m (£80m), reflecting a net initial yield of 4.5% after the next agreed RPI-linked rent review in September 2017.
The store comprises 125,000 ft² on a 17-acre site with more than 700 parking spaces. It is being acquired with an unexpired lease term of approximately 21 years, which is subject to annual, upward-only, RPI-linked rent reviews (subject to cap and collar) on full repairing and insuring terms. Sainsbury’s first developed this site in the early 1990s and have since undertaken a significant capital investment in the store through an extension and refurbishment in 2011.
The purchase has been funded out of the equity proceeds of the IPO in July 2017 and from the Company's Revolving Credit Facility.
Ben Green, Director of Atrato Capital, the Investment Adviser to Supermarket Income REIT, said: "This is our third acquisition since our IPO. The asset is important to Sainsbury’s, which has committed significant capital into its extension and redevelopment in recent years. The sizable 17-acre site is ideally located to serve the ever-growing Ashford population, situated in close proximity to the town centre and directly adjacent to the M20 and the Eureka leisure park.This investment by Supermarket Income REIT is a strong addition to our portfolio and provides attractive and growing income, while its size, site cover and location means that there is excellent upside potential over the longer term. It also diversifies and strengthens our tenant and geographic mix".
