ACQUISITION OF WOLSELEY DISTRIBUTION CENTRE

RNS Number : 2964Q

Tritax Big Box REIT plc

28 August 2014

 



29 August 2014

TRITAX BIG BOX REIT PLC

(the "Company")

ACQUISITION OF THE WOLSELEY REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTRE, RIPON,

NORTH YORKSHIRE, FOR £12.24 MILLION

The Board of Tritax Big Box REIT plc (LSE: BBOX) is pleased to announce that it has acquired the Wolseley Regional Distribution Centre ("RDC") at Ripon, North Yorkshire for a purchase price of £12.24 million (net of acquisition costs), reflecting a net initial yield of 6.73% on the corporate acquisition, assuming 1.8% costs. The purchase has been funded out of equity proceeds, with senior debt finance expected to be introduced in the near term.

Ripon is one of three RDC's in the UK for Wolseley UK Ltd ("Wolseley"), with the others located in Worcester and Bedford. They are all supported by the national distribution centre and head office which are located at Leamington Spa. Ripon is the only RDC which serves the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, a significant geographical area. It is conveniently positioned close to Junction 50 of the A1. Ripon has historically been an established location for Wolseley's UK business, currently providing employment for approximately 3,000 employees involved in HR, IT, property and administration, who support the next day delivery services to their UK branch network. Wolseley also has a product returns distribution centre located in Ripon. The company has invested heavily into its information technology systems in order to streamline its processes, reduce costs and therefore improve its supply chain, which Ripon is already benefiting from.

Constructed in 2001, the property is of a high specification and provides a key RDC with ancillary offices and extensive parking over approximately 10.9 acres, with a rentalised area totalling 221,747 sq ft, thereby providing a low site cover of approximately 46%. The warehouse has an eaves height of 12m.

The distribution warehouse is being acquired with an unexpired lease term of approximately 12.5 years, which is subject to five yearly open market rent reviews. The current passing rent is £838,500 per annum (£3.78 per sq ft) with the next rent review due in September 2016, which is expected to be reversionary.

SG Commercial and WHY represented the Company. Cushman & Wakefield represented the vendor.

Colin Godfrey, Partner of Tritax, commented:

"We are delighted with our acquisition of the Wolseley regional distribution centre at Ripon, which is Wolseley's sole centre serving the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland with immediate motorway connectivity. It also provides tenant diversification to our current portfolio."

For further information, please contact:

Tritax Group Colin Godfrey (Partner, Fund Manager)	via Newgate Communications
Newgate Communications (Financial PR) James Benjamin Clotilde Gros Georgia Lewis	Tel: [phone] Email: [e-mail]
Jefferies International Limited Gary Gould Stuart Klein Alex Collins	Tel: [phone]
Akur Limited Anthony Richardson Tom Frost Siobhan Sergeant	Tel: [phone]

NOTES:

Tritax Big Box REIT plc is a real estate investment trust to which Part 12 of the UK Corporation Tax Act 2010 applies ("REIT"). The Company invests in a portfolio of well-located, modern "Big Box" assets, typically greater than 500,000 sq. ft., let to institutional-grade tenants on long-term leases (typically at least 12 years in length) with upward-only rent reviews (giving inflation linked earnings growth), and with geographic and tenant diversification throughout the UK. The Company seeks to exploit the significant opportunity in this sub-sector of the UK logistics market owing to strong tenant demand in high growth areas of the economy and limited stock supply. The Company is the first listed vehicle to give pure exposure to the "Big Box" asset class in the UK.

Further information on Tritax Big Box REIT is available at www.tritaxbigboxreitplc.co.uk 

 

END

 

 

ACQQKFDPOBKDNFB