Europa Capital and global integrated property group Goodman, have completed the investment sale of the 112,200-sq-ft prime warehouse let to Kent County Council (“KCC”) at Aylesford Commercial Park, New Hythe, Kent for £12.8 million. This reflects an initial yield of circa 4.68%.
A private Middle Eastern investor has acquired the newly-completed asset, which is located on a 5.47-acre plot fronting Papyrus Way and was pre-let in May 2013 to KCC on a 25 year term at a base rent of £5.65 a sq ft.
Goodman and Europa Capital completed the KCC development on 8th October, ahead of schedule and to budget. The facility is occupied by Commercial Services, the education supplies division of KCC. The joint venture provided £2 million of fit-out which was paid for by the tenant.
Callum Thorneycroft, Associate Director, Europa Capital said: “This is the first completed development under Europa Capital’s joint venture with Goodman and this sale, at such a low initial yield, only serves to underline the successful strategy executed by the joint venture. The strategy to invest in a sector with limited prime new supply and secure a pre-let is complemented by achieving a successful sale and demonstrates the benefits of the joint venture and the current market fundamentals.”
Charles Crossland, Managing Director, Goodman UK Logistics said: “This successful sale at an impressive yield results from the length of the lease and the covenant strength of the local government tenant, combined with an under-rented M25 location and a well-designed, high-quality asset. The pace at which we progressed from pre-letting to completion of the unit and fit out to the ultimate asset disposal is testament to the up-front investment in planning and infrastructure we make across our logistics land bank.”
Aylesford Commercial Park, situated 1.5 miles from Junction 4 of the M20 and only 14 miles from the M25, is being developed as a joint venture between Europa Capital and Goodman. The remaining 5.5 acres on the park have planning permission for two units of 46,000 sq ft and 76,000 sq ft.
The purchaser of the KCC unit is Langoya, managed by Summit Trust International SA which provides management to a Middle Eastern family trust, the Iken Trust, which has recently acquired in the region of £70 million of UK real estate assets.
CBRE represented the Joint Venture on the disposal.
For further information on Goodman please contact:Dominic Morgan 020 7269 9343 dominic.morgan@fticonsulting.com Philippa Murray 020 7269 9331 philippa.murray@fticonsulting.com
For further information on Europa please contact: Gordon Simpson/Charlotte Whitley, RLM Finsbury: +44 20 7251 3801
About Europa Capital:
Europa Capital is an established real estate fund management group operating across Europe adding value through risk-based acquisition strategies and active asset management on behalf of its investors.
Since 1995, Europa Capital’s Principals have collectively raised 7 real estate funds and committed to over 75 transactions totalling some €7.0 billion across 18 European countries.
The Europa Funds benefit from Europa Capital’s established network of partners across Europe who co-invest in acquisitions made by the Europa Funds. These country and joint venture partner relationships in some cases extend back more than 20 years.
Further information can be found at www.europacapital.com.
Europa Capital is a member of The Rockefeller Group (“RGI”). RGI is a strategic investor alongside Management.
Europa Capital Partners LLP and Europa Capital LLP are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
About Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)Goodman Group is an integrated property group with operations throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, the United Kingdom, North America and Brazil. Goodman Group, comprised of the stapled entities Goodman Limited and Goodman Industrial Trust, is the largest industrial property group listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and one of the largest listed specialist fund managers of industrial property and business space globally.
Goodman’s global property expertise, integrated own+develop+manage customer service offering and significant fund management platform ensures it creates innovative property solutions that meet the individual requirements of its customers, whilst seeking to deliver attractive long-term returns for investors. In Europe, Goodman has offices in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.
Please visit: http://uklogistics.goodman.com/ www.goodman.com
