Acquisition

RNS Number : 4310I

Ediston Property Inv Comp PLC

09 December 2015

 

 9 December 2015

Ediston Property Investment Company plc

(the "Company")

 ACQUISITION OF PLAS COCH RETAIL PARK, WREXHAM FOR £22.4 MILLION

Ediston Property Investment Company plc (LSE: EPIC) announces that it has exchanged contracts to acquire Plas Coch Retail Park in Wrexham for £22.4 million (net of acquisition costs) from Diageo Pension Trust Limited. The net initial yield is 6.52%, rising to 7.35% in March 2016 on expiry of a rent-free period. The acquisition will be funded from existing cash resources and completion is expected in the middle of December.

Plas Coch is a well-located retail park, totalling 94,000 sq ft, adjacent to a Sainsbury's supermarket and an Aldi foodstore. It is let to seven national tenants and benefits from a weighted average unexpired lease term (WAULT) in excess of 10 years. TK Maxx has recently relocated to the park from Wrexham town centre, reinforcing the attraction of the park to retailers. 

Once this transaction completes, the Company will have invested £142 million in 12 assets since listing in October 2014. These acquisitions, coupled with successful asset management initiatives, have resulted in the WAULT of the portfolio doubling to 10.13 years over the same period, providing good income security for shareholders.

Calum Bruce, Director of Investment at Ediston Properties Limited, the Company's Investment Adviser, said: "The purchase continues our strategy of growing the Company in a sustainable and credible manner by acquiring high-quality assets with a solid income stream and asset management angles to exploit. The yield is attractive and is in line with our investment strategy".

For further information:

Ediston Properties Limited (Investment Adviser)                             0131 225 5599

Calum Bruce     

Canaccord Genuity Limited                                                                         020 7523 8000

Will Barnett                      

Neil Brierley                     

Dominic Waters                              

David Yovichic  

Tavistock                                                                                                            020 7920 3150

Jeremy Carey ([e-mail])

James Whitmore ([e-mail])

R&H Fund Services Limited (Company Secretary)                           0131 524 6140

Martin Cassels                 

Notes to editors:

Ediston Property Investment Company plc is a UK real estate investment trust (REIT) with a premium listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Company invests in UK commercial real estate assets to achieve its objective of providing its shareholders with an attractive level of income together with the potential for capital and income growth. It invests principally in three commercial property sectors: office, retail (including retail warehouses) and industrial, without regard to a traditional property market relative return benchmark. The Company launched in October 2014 with the acquisition of an initial £76.7m diversified portfolio of UK commercial properties. In July 2015 it raised £35.9 million by way of a placing and offer of ordinary shares as part of a placing programme. As at 30 September 2015, it owned 11 properties with a value of £136.4 million.

Portfolio management services are undertaken by Ediston Properties Limited, which currently manages property assets across the UK for institutional investors.

 

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