C&R agrees further lettings on former BHS space

RNS Number : 1664W

Capital & Regional plc

07 February 2017

 

7 February 2017

Capital & Regional plc

("Capital & Regional" or the "Company" or "Group")

Capital & Regional agrees further lettings on former BHS space

Capital & Regional plc (LSE: CAL), the UK focused specialist retail property REIT, announces that it has completed further lettings totalling 64,000 sq ft across two former BHS units at its shopping centres in Walthamstow and Redditch, bringing new occupiers Lidl and The Range into the respective schemes.

Lidl has taken 18,000 sq ft on the ground floor at The Mall, Walthamstow on a 25 year lease, with an expected opening in early summer 2017. Together with the previously reported 15,000 sq ft letting to The Gym Group the Company has already secured a 40% uplift in contracted rent compared to that previously received from BHS, with further significant income expected to be realised upon letting of the remaining 12,000 sq ft of available space, of which over 50% is now under offer.

At The Kingfisher Centre in Redditch, in which Capital & Regional has a 20% joint venture interest, the home, leisure and garden retailer The Range has taken a 10 year lease over the entire 46,000 sq ft unit previously occupied by BHS.  The store, which is expected to open by Easter, brings an important new anchor tenant to the scheme.

James Ryman, Investment Director at Capital & Regional, said:

"We have continued to make excellent progress in securing new lettings on the former BHS stores in our portfolio, enhancing our occupier mix with a range of national brands with strong covenants.  In the six months since BHS closed, we have already re-let the majority of the stores, securing £1.2 million of contracted rent at levels that in aggregate are ahead of the previous BHS rent and ERV.  These lettings and the ongoing negotiations on the remaining space reflects the continuing strong occupier demand for Capital & Regional's well-located, dominant community shopping centres."

For further information:

Capital & Regional:	Tel:  [phone]
Charles Staveley, Group Finance Director James Ryman, Investment Director
FTI Consulting:	Tel: [phone]
Richard Sunderland Claire Turvey [e-mail]

About Capital & Regional

Capital & Regional is a UK focused specialist property REIT with a strong track record of delivering value enhancing retail and leisure asset management opportunities across a c. £1 billion portfolio of in-town dominant community shopping centres.  Capital & Regional is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange and has a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.   

Capital & Regional owns six shopping centres in Blackburn, Hemel Hempstead, Luton, Maidstone, Walthamstow and Wood Green. It also has a 20% joint venture interest in the Kingfisher Centre in Redditch and a 50% joint venture in the Buttermarket Centre, Ipswich.  Capital & Regional manages these assets, which comprise over 830 retail units and attract c. 1.6 million shopping visits each week, through its in-house expert property and asset management platform.

For further information see www.capreg.com.

 

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