Sol and Eddie Zakay’s Topland is hoping to carry out almost £1bn worth of sale-and-leasebacks by the summer, shedding its debt-driven image.
This week it completed an innovative £650m deal with supermarket giant Tesco and is in talks to win a £250m-£300m deal with Volkswagen.
Last year, the company raised £150m of equity through two separate refinancing deals (11 October 2003) and Sol Zakay pledged to put more cash into deals.
The 25-year deal with Tesco adds a new dimension to the traditional sale-and-leaseback, with the supermarket effectively securitising its rent.
Tesco has sold the portfolio – two distribution centres and 33 stores – into a 50/50 joint venture with Topland that will issue £632.5m of bonds.
Tesco will also take £17.5m of cash from the deal.
Rent for the properties starts at £17 per sq ft, with annual rises capped at 2.5%.
Meanwhile, as revealed by EG (14 February, p22), Topland is also the frontrunner to buy and lease back up to 150 Volkswagen dealerships in the UK.
