Savills Investment Management (“Savills IM”), the international real estate investment manager, today announces that its UK Value Boxes fund (“UKVB” or “the Fund”) has deployed £75 million with the closing of its first four assets across the UK since launch in October 2021. The four retail park assets, which include two in England, one in Scotland and one in Wales, were acquired for a combined yield of almost 7.5%.
Savills IM’s UK retail park strategy was launched in October 2021 with the aim of capitalising on the strong income-producing characteristics of the UK retail parks sector, with a focus on parks let to grocery, discount and DIY retailers let off low rents.
The average passing rent on the four assets is £13.50 per sq. ft and tenants include M&S, Home Bargains, Aldi, B&M, B&Q, Pets at Home, and Iceland. The average unexpired lease term is approximately 7 years.
The two assets in England are located in Stafford and Catterick. Hough Retail Park is located less than a mile from Stafford town centre and is the primary bulky goods retail warehousing park in the area. Totalling 101,799 sq. ft and providing 415 customer car parking spaces, the park’s tenants include high quality names such as B&Q, Argos, Home Bargains and Starbucks.
The second asset is Princes Gate in Catterick Garrison, which is the dominant retail & leisure provision in the area. It lies opposite a Tesco Extra store and tenants include Iceland, Poundland, Pets at Home, Sports Direct, Next and Boots.
The Fund also acquired Avenue Retail Park in Cardiff, which is anchored by an M&S Foodhall, B&M and Home Bargains, and a retail park in Aberdeen, let to Aldi, Matalan, B&M and Argos, which benefits from lying adjacent to a large Asda supermarket.