Conygar acquires £40m regional office portfolio

Nine multi-let assets across the UK purchased ‘Off Market’ from consortium

Article posted: 29 Dec 2011

Acting on behalf of The Conygar Investment Company PLC, James Barr’s investment team has concluded the successful acquisition of a portfolio, comprising 9 assets, from a consortium including Edinmore Group and Buccleuch Property for a total consideration of circa £40 million. The annual rent roll is approximately £4.22m representing net initial yield of 10.56%.

 
The portfolio includes 95,000 sq ft of office space in Leicestershire at Ashby Park, Ashby de la Zouch (pictured), three freehold office buildings totalling let to three tenants, Alstom Power, Findel Education and Hill Rom Limited. The total rental income is £1,059,000 pa and included in the purchase is a well located 3 acre development site which offers further opportunities.

The 115,000 sq ft Norfolk House is a freehold building consisting of 89,000 sq ft of office space in Birmingham city centre, with the balance being retail space. Located next to the Bull Ring the property should benefit from the nearby redevelopment of New Street Station. The current rental income is £949,533 pa.

Watt Place, Hamilton International Technology Park, Blantyre is a 34,300 sq ft freehold industrial unit let to motor vehicle component manufacturer CTS Corporation UK Limited on a lease expiring in February 2016. The current rental income is £189,000 pa.

 
Compass House is a heritable building comprising 30,500 sq ft office space in Dundee in a prime waterfront location. It is let to The Scottish Ministers until March 2019 at a total rent of £380,000 pa.

Witham Park House is a former factory divided into three separate freehold blocks and converted into 101,000 sq ft of office space in Lincoln. The majority of the building is let to Lincolnshire County Council with lease expiry dates ranging from 2012 to 2018. Current rental income is £585,000 pa.

 
Charles House is a freehold building comprising 28,600 sq ft of office space in Northampton. Built over 5 floors all let on a number of short leases, the current rental income is £194,000 pa. Tollgate Business Park provides 55,000 sq ft of freehold industrial and office space in Stafford currently let to Elster Metering until April 2015 at £291,000 pa.

 
1 Cotham Street in St Helens is a 41,600 sq ft freehold building purpose built and let to Wilkinson at £466,000 pa. Finally, Network House is a 33,100 sq ft freehold building consists of circa 19,300 sq ft of retail and 14,000 sq ft of office space in Wolverhampton. The existing office accommodation is currently vacant however the property offers a considerable redevelopment opportunity and various alternatives are being evaluated. Current rental income is £113,000 pa.

 
Robert Ware, Chief Executive of Conygar commented: “This is an excellent off-market opportunity for Conygar.  A high yielding portfolio with a good spread of risk and offering considerable upside from both lease re-gears and development opportunities. The assets are a good fit with our existing portfolio and will generate surplus cash from day one.” 

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Posted by Jules