9th Jan 2007 07:00
Wichford plc09 January 2007 Wichford plc Acquisitions in Norwich and Plymouth 9 January 2007 Wichford plc, the property investment company, is pleased to announce that ithas exchanged contracts to acquire a further two properties in Norwich andPlymouth for a total consideration of £15.8 million. They will both be added tothe core portfolio. Details of the two properties are as follows: Norwich This is a good quality office building in a strong retail area of Norwich andtotals 9,135 sq. ft. It is held long leasehold until 2103 at a ground rent of£24,600 per annum. The entire building is let to the Secretary of State for Works and Pensionsuntil 27 January 2030 with no breaks and there is therefore 23 years unexpired. The current rent of £164,000 reflects £17.95 per sq. ft. with the next rentreview due in January 2010. The net rent to Wichford after deduction of theground rent is £139,400. The price paid of £2,200,000 reflects a net initialyield of 6% Plymouth The property is a newly completed office building of 61,000 sq. ft. and is letto Trillium Prime Property (GB) Ltd and occupied by the Department of Work andPensions on a lease expiring May 2021 but with a tenant's break clause in May2018. It is part used as a Job Centre Plus. The passing rent is £854,786 per annumwhich reflects £15 per sq. ft. and the price of £13.6 million reflects a netinitial yield of 5.95%. Furthermore, the ground floor is let for 999 years at a peppercorn rent andWichford have the option to acquire this interest for a payment of a further £1million in May 2007. At this time the rent will rise to £914,786 per annum. Summary The total consideration for the two properties is £15.8 million. With a currentrent roll of £1,018,786 per annum, the net initial yield to Wichford plc is6.1%. Michael Sheehan, Chairman of Wichford commented: "These latest acquisitions represent an excellent start to the year for Wichfordand demonstrate that the company continues to find opportunities to buy goodquality Government-let office buildings at attractive initial yields." Enquiries Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: 020 7638 9571 George Cazenove Hannah Seward Notes to Editors Wichford PLC is a property investment company, with a portfolio focused on UKinvestment property outside Central London occupied exclusively by UK CentralGovernment bodies. Following these acquisitions, the Company will have 68properties under management with a gross asset value of circa £508 milliongenerating a rental income of over £30.6 million per annum. The Companymaintains a portfolio of properties across the UK with unit values usuallybetween £2 million and £25 million. The properties are occupied by UK CentralGovernment bodies and all are outside Central London. The Company's currentcore portfolio has a weighted average unexpired lease term of circa 11 years. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
RDI.L