Europa Capital, the pan-European real estate investment manager, and its joint venture partner, Ediston Real Estate, have forward sold Plymouth Gateway Retail Park to Royal London Mutual Insurance Society at a price for the completed development of £22.7 million, reflecting a yield of 5.9%. Europa Capital’s investment in the development was on behalf of its Europa Fund IV and formed part of its well-recognised strategy to realise value through strong value-add opportunities across Europe.
The 55,000 sq. foot retail warehouse park, which is currently under construction, is fully pre-let to Wren Kitchens, Tapi Carpets, Sofology, Mothercare, KFC and Costa, and is due to be completed in September 2018. Europa and Ediston received strong tenant interest for the development in a supply restricted market, achieving rents of between £22.00 and £25.00 per sq. foot per annum for the terraced units.
James Fortescue, Partner at Europa Capital, said: “This forward sale to Royal London represents another good result for the Europa/Ediston joint venture within Europa Fund IV as institional investors recognise the quality of our developments and the fruits of our commitment to each scheme. The successful pre-letting of Plymouth Gateway well ahead of practical completion further underlines our belief that the right product will perform in different sectors, even in the face of adverse sentiment in the case of retail.”
Andy McKinlay of Ediston added: “Despite what appears to be challenging times for the retail occupier market, we have still experienced strong demand across the Europa/Ediston retail warehouse portfolio. Plymouth Gateway is a prime example of this. The Park is expected to be fully developed by September 2018 allowing the tenants to fit out and occupy as quickly as possible.”
Mike Lawrence, Royal London’s Head of Retail, commented: “Plymouth Gateway is an excellent acquisition for RLMIS and is in line with the Fund’s objectives of acquiring best in class assets within demographically strong locations across the UK.”
For further information, please contact:
Dido Laurimore/ Richard Sunderland/Tom Gough/ Eve Kirmatzis
FTI Consulting
Tel: 020 3727 1000
EuropaCapital@fticonsulting.com
Notes to Editors:
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 has collectively raised nine real estate funds and committed to over 130 transactions totalling more than €11.0 billion across 19 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.
Europa Capital is a member of Rockefeller Group International, Inc. (“RGI”), a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd. RGI is a strategic investor alongside Management. Europa Capital Partners LLP and Europa Capital LLP are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Further information can be found at www.europacapital.com
About Ediston Real Estate:
Ediston Real Estate is a UK property company based in Edinburgh with assets under management in excess of £750 million.
The company focuses on both investment and development, and has a track record of buying sub-standard, well located properties and transforming them into prime institutional quality investments.
Ediston has been actively investing with Europa Capital throughout the UK since 2011 through the Ediston Opportunity Fund, the Ediston UK Real Estate Trust launched in 2012 and more recently for Europa Fund IV and V.
Further information can be found at www.ediston.com
