SALE OF RETAIL SITES ACHIEVES STRONG RETURN FOR MOUNTGRANGE
The Mountgrange and European Property Investors Special Opportunities LP (EPISO) joint venture vehicle has sold two retail assets which they acquired in September 2008 on an initial yield of 7.5%.
A prime shop in Chichester (10/12 North Street), which was let post acquisition to Boots at a rent £100,000 above the rent at purchase, has been sold to Royal London at a 5.33% yield, achieving a sales price above original book value.
In Chester, a property occupied by New Look (43 Eastgate Street) has been acquired from the Joint Venture by M&G Property Portfolio, representing a yield of 5.45%.
Rob West, a Partner of Mountgrange Investment Management, the fund manager, commented: “We are delighted to have achieved such satisfying sales of these two prime retail sites in Chester and Chichester, at a price which represents a good return for our investors. This result demonstrates the importance of combining strong asset management skills to deliver initiatives such as a new letting in an adverse market, with the investment experience necessary to maximise the returns to our investment partners.”
Merrick Marshall, who heads Asset Management for AEW Europe in London which is the co-manager of EPISO, agreed: “We were pleased to have achieved values in excess of our asking prices for both assets in these strategic sales which demonstrates there is always strong demand for quality assets even in a volatile market.”
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For further information:
Howard Lee T: 020 7367 5225 M: 07836 785 993 E: hlee@headlandconsultancy.co.uk
Tom Gough T: 020 7367 5228 M: 07717 896 701 E: tgough@headlandconsultancy.co.uk
About Mountgrange Investment Management MIM is a dedicated independent UK property fund and asset manager with a team of 12 experienced professionals drawn from the property and fund management industries. MIM has launched its first fund, the Mountgrange Real Estate Opportunity Fund (“MoREOF”) with committed capital of £300million drawn from investors around the world including endowment and pension funds, family offices, fund of funds managers, and high net worth individuals.
With debt, MoREOF will have acquisition capacity of £850 million. MIM seeks to identify undervalued opportunities across a number of property segments and to maximise returns by applying its investment and asset management expertise.
About AEW Europe AEW Europe is one of the pre-eminent European real estate investment managers with over 250 professionals operating from 11 offices in Barcelona, Bucharest, Budapest, Düsseldorf, London, Luxembourg, Milan, Paris, Prague, Stockholm, and Warsaw.
AEW Europe together with its U.S. and Singapore affiliates have approximately €30 billion in gross assets under management, are a subsidiary of Natixis Global Asset Management and constitute a broad, well-established network of relationships with property investors, owners, developers and lenders across the globe.
Tristan Capital Partners is a London-based investment management boutique specialising in real estate investment strategies across the UK and continental Europe. Tristan is the sub-advisor/portfolio manager for the AEW Europe Funds European Property Investors and European Property Investors Special Opportunities.