Five Oaks Investments has bought the Eastern Avenue Retail Park in Gloucester from Boots Properties for £11.96m. The deal reflects a yield of 5% on an annual rent of £615,000.
The 5,759.8 sqm (62,000 sq ft) retail warehouse park stands next to a new park being developed by Abbey Life which has been pre-let to Homebase and Comet.
The Eastern Avenue Retail Park’s five tenants include Currys, Allied Carpets and Harveys. They are paying an average rent of £106.5 per sq m (£9.90 per sq ft). The current estimated rental value is some £139.9 per sq m (£13 per sq ft). Five Oaks reckons the yield will rise to 8.4% after the next reviews which are due in three years time.
Five Oaks’ MD John Watkins said: “Eastern Avenue is now Gloucester’s main retail centre and we believe the park will show strong growth both in capital and income terms over the next few years.” The latest deal reflects the company’s strategy of concentrating on retail property and offices in London’s West End and the Thames Valley.
The company notes sales in the last year have raised £9.55m and provided £500,000 of profits over book value. Disposals have included a small retail park in Worksop for £5.1m and an industrial estate in Kearsley near Bolton, Lancashire for £2.2m.
Lambert Smith Hampton advised Five Oaks, while Hartnell Taylor Cook advised Boots Properties.
EGi News 08/07/97
