Three new retail park investment deals have demonstrated the relative buoyancy of the sub-sector, as it continues to outperform investment in the shopping centre and high street market.
La Salle Investment Management has sold the 100,000 sq ft long-leasehold interest in Exe Bridge Retail Park in Exeter, Devon, for £31m – a 6.19% yield to Legal & General.
The scheme has consent for an additional 67,810 sq ft of food and beverage space. Rents are between £29.50 per sq ft and £31 per sq ft and it has a weighted average unexpired lease term of around 7.5 years.
Claymore Group has forward sold Grovebury Retail Park, a 70,000 sq ft retail warehouse scheme in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, for £16m to Aberdeen Asset Management.
Claymore acquired the seven-acre site having promoted the development through the planning process to obtain permission for bulky goods retail and has secured prelets to Wickes, B&M, Pets at Home and KFC, comprising 50,000 sq ft in total.
Helical has sold London Road Retail Park, Southend on Sea, to George Capital Real Estate Fund for £14.2m – a 7.75% yield.
The 74,954 sq ft property’s tenants includes Homebase, Currys PC World and Pets at Home. It has an average weighted unexpired lease term of just under five years.
Helical has been repositioning its portfolio away from retail and leisure to focus more on its London assets.
According to EG data, £1.2bn was invested into retail parks in H1 2017, compared with only £725m spent on shopping centres, a difference explained by the relative resilience of retail parks’ tenant base.
Wilkinson Williams acted for LaSalle in Devon, Claymore and Helical. Staunton Whiteman advised Aberdeen Asset Management. Savills and BCM represented George Capital in Southend. Wilkinson Williams advised Helical.
