Great Portland Estates plc ("GPE") and Liberty International subsidiary Capital & Counties Ltd ("C&C") announce that their 50:50 central London joint venture, The Great Capital Partnership ("GCP"), has agreed to acquire six properties in four separate transactions for £159.5 million in aggregate as follows:
- In Regent Street, W1, three properties have been acquired from WELPUT for £111.8 million. The properties are 100 Regent Street & 33 Glasshouse Street; Regent Arcade House, 19/25 Argyll Street; and Spirella House, 266/270 Regent Street. They are held leasehold from the Crown Estate ("The Crown") for an average unexpired term of 88 years at an average ground rent of 13.5% rents received, comprise 128,100 sq ft of commercial space and produce a current annual rent, net of ground rent, of £5.43 million. The average office rent is £44 per sq ft and the average retail rent is £257 per sq ft Zone A. The buildings have an estimated total net rental value of £6.92 million per annum in their current un-reconfigured state.
Elsewhere three buildings have been acquired adjacent to existing holdings in the West End and Midtown in three separate transactions for a total price of £47.7 million as follows:
- 54/56 Jermyn Street, London, SW1, has been acquired for a price of £19.5 million and comprises 28,400 sq ft of commercial space let to Wilton's restaurant and Standard Chartered Bank. The building is held on a lease from the The Crown with 72 years remaining and adjoins GCP's 104,000 Piccadilly Estate also held on similar leases from The Crown. The current net rent, having deducted the ground rent, is £1.0 million per annum with a rent review outstanding.
- 43 Fetter Lane, London, EC4, is a freehold vacant building which currently comprises 28,840 sq ft, has the benefit of planning consent for 39,500 sq ft and has been acquired for a price of £20.5 million. It is adjacent to GCP's existing ownership at 12/14 New Fetter Lane, EC4 and together they form a 0.25 acre island site with good potential for a larger scale scheme.
- 10/12 Park Crescent, London, W1, is a 21,000 sq ft office building let to Adobe Systems producing a net annual rent of £318,000 rising to £598,000 in November 2008 and has been acquired for a price of £7.7 million. The property adjoins GCP's existing Park Crescent holdings and is also held on a lease from the Crown.
This brings the total assets in GCP to £621 million, of which 63% is on or in the immediate vicinity of Regent Street.
"We announced the creation of GCP with £460 million of assets at the end of March. These transactions bring six further properties in first class locations with asset management opportunities and very good prospects for rental growth from the current base. Three of the assets, when combined with their neighbouring properties, provide larger scale development opportunities which further augment our near and medium term development pipeline."
