AEW Long Lease REIT announces pipeline of £40m

RNS Number : 1683Q

AEW UK Long Lease REIT PLC

08 September 2017

 

8 September 2017

AEW UK Long Lease REIT plc announces pipeline of £40m

AEW UK Long Lease REIT plc ("the Company") is pleased to announce that, in addition to the two assets, one exchanged and one completed, announced on 6 September, it has six further assets under offer, totalling c. £40m. The average weighted unexpired lease term across all eight assets is c. 30 years, with an average net initial yield of 6.0% and 94% of the income benefitting from growth linked to inflation. It is anticipated that further announcements will be made during September. 

Investment Policy  

The Company's investment policy, inter alia, restricts (i) the value of a single property and (ii) the value of assets in any sub-sector in one geographical region, each at the time of investment, to a maximum of 10 per cent of the gross asset value of the Company ("Gross Asset Value"). As the investment strategy intends to utilise leverage, the Board is of the view that these restrictions should be applied on the basis that the full extent of the proposed leverage has been utilised. Therefore, as a non-material change to the investment policy of the Company and a point of clarification, when the measure of Gross Asset Value is used to calculate these restrictions, it will reflect an assumption that the Company has drawdown borrowings such that these borrowings are equal to 30 per cent of Gross Asset Value.

AEW UK Long Lease REIT plc raised £80.5m from institutional and retail investors at its IPO in June and at that time it stated its expectation to substantially invest the net proceeds within nine months of listing. The Company is targeting an annual dividend of 5.5 pence per share paid quarterly, once fully invested and levered, with an ambition to grow in line with UK inflation thereafter. In addition to its pipeline above, the Company has completed on one acquisition and exchanged on another with a combined total value of c £9.2m.

AEW UK

Alex Short	[e-mail]
Laura Elkin	[phone] [e-mail]
Nicki Gladstone	[phone] [e-mail]
	[phone]
Company Secretary
Capita Company Secretarial Services Limited	[e-mail]  [phone]
Temple Bar Advisory Ed Orlebar Tom Allison Alycia MacAskill	[phone] [phone] [phone] [phone]

About AEW UK Long Lease REIT

AEW UK Long Lease REIT plc (LSE: AEWL) aims to generate a sustainable, secure and predictable income return, whilst at least maintaining capital values in real terms, by investing in a diversified portfolio of UK properties, with an attractive entry yield, predominately in alternative and specialist sectors. It will invest in a diverse range of sectors that are underrepresented in institutional portfolios including leisure, healthcare, education, hotels, student accommodation, supported living and automotive. At its IPO on June 6 2017, AEWL raised £80.5m from institutional and retail investors. At least 85% of the portfolio's leases will contain inflation-linked rent reviews, and average initial unexpired leases in excess of 18 years.

About AEW UK Investment Management LLP

AEW UK Investment Management LLP employs a well-resourced team comprising 25 individuals covering investment, asset management, operations and strategy. It is part of AEW Global, one of the world's largest real estate managers, with €60.1 billion of assets under management as at 31 December 2016. AEW Global comprises AEW Europe SA and AEW Capital Management L.P., a U.S. registered investment manager. In Europe, as at 31 December 2016, AEW Global managed €26.0 billion in value in properties of all types located in 14 countries, with over 380 staff. The Investment Manager is a 50:50 joint venture between the principals of the Investment Manager and AEW Europe.

 

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