Six regional buildings picked to kick off firm’s latest bank partnership
Warner Estate Holdings has launched a £109m regional office fund with Royal Bank of Scotland. The quoted property investor will sell six office buildings into the 50/50 fund, which it will manage.
Chairman Philip Warner said: “This is a further significant move for Warner and we are delighted to be working with RBS – we both believe that there are resilient strengths in the regional office sector.”
The fund follows the March launch of Warner’s £223m Agora fund with Bank of Scotland, which owns shopping centres in the North West.
A second shopping centre fund may also be launched.
Warner added: “Research has indicated that many of the known regional office markets are not subjected to major fluctuations in value. In the big eight regional centres, tenants tend to make their choice of location and then remain.
“By creating a portfolio that spans the breadth of the UK, we have created a growth vehicle, which has defensive characteristics and the potential to continue to perform well in a slower market.”
Warner said the proceeds of the sale would be used to reduce gearing and provide funds for further acquisitions.
The company has £644m of property under management.
Johnny Cameron, chief executive of RBS corporate banking and financial markets, said: “We are delighted to be working closely with Warner Estate on this portfolio – it fits well with our philosophy of developing strategic relationships across our business from which further opportunities will flow.”
The 581,000 sq ft portfolio has a rent roll of £8.5m. The initial yield on the portfolio is 7.27% with a reversionary yield of 7.54%.
The six offices are located in Leeds, Bournemouth, Kingston, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Glasgow.
