13th Nov 2006 07:02
Wichford plc13 November 2006 13 November 2006 WICHFORD PLC Acquisitons in Newcastle, London and Wolverhampton Wichford plc ("Wichford" or the "Company"), the property investment company, ispleased to announce the acquisition of three properties in Newcastle, London andWolverhampton for a total consideration of just over £14 million. Alfred Wilson House, Newcastle The property is a newly built office of 5,467 sq ft and is let to the FirstSecretary of State as a Job Centre Plus until December 2020 at a current rent of£100,000 per annum. The rent is subject to annual uplifts each December of 2.5%throughout the term. The purchase price of £1,800,000 reflects a net initial yield of 5.25% risingnext month to 5.4%. The property will join the Core Portfolio. Newington Causeway, London SE1 The property consists of a Job Centre Plus located close to the Elephant &Castle and is a modern office of 23,246 sq ft. It is let to the London Boroughof Southwark on a lease expiring in 2010 and they have sub-let all but one floorto the Secretary of State for the Environment. The rent received by Wichfordplc is £469,450 per annum which reflects £20.19 per sq ft. Southwark havesub-let to the Secretary of State at £23.92 per sq ft. The purchase price of £7.4 million reflects a net initial yield of 6.2%. Theproperty will join the active portfolio. Molineux House, Wolverhampton Wichford has just exchanged contracts on this property in the sum of £4,975,000. The property adjoins Wichford's existing holding, Temple House. Molineux House consists of a 32,569 sq ft office building let to Trillium(Prime) Property GP Limited on a lease expiring 31/3/2018 and occupied by theDepartment for Work and Pensions.The current rent of £276,835 per annum reflects£8.50 per sq ft and there are reviews in 2009 and 2014 geared to the uplift inthe Retail Price Index. At the price of £4,975,000 the net initial yield to Wichford is 5.45% with aprojected yield in 2009 of 6.4%. The property will join the Core Portfolio. Summary In total the three buildings have a purchase price of £14,175,000 and produce acombined rental income of £846,285 per annum. The blended net initial yield is5.83%. The three buildings have a total floor area of 61,282 sq ft and anaverage rent per sq ft of £13.82. Two of the three leases have fixed uplifts. Michael Sheehan, Chairman of Wichford plc; "We are delighted with these three acquisitions which continue our policy ofmaking selective purchases when we can. Wolverhampton is clearly a specialsituation adjoining an existing holding and Newington Causeway adds to ourexposure to London joining the assets we already hold in Bromley, Islington,Acton, Uxbridge, Harrow and Croydon." END Enquiries Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: 020 7638 9571George CazenoveHannah 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 65properties under management with a gross asset value of circa £447 milliongenerating a rental income of over £27.1 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 currentportfolio has a weighted average unexpired lease term of circa 10 years. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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