Great Portland extends Regent Street holdings
Published: 04 January, 2010
Great Portland Estates has continued to assemble potential retail development sites on London’s Regent Street with two new deals worth a combined £35m.
The Great Ropemaker Partnership, a 50:50 joint venture with BP Pension Fund, has acquired the long leasehold interest in Austin Reed’s flagship store at 103/113 Regent Street from clients of F&C REIT for £27m, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.2 per cent. The 55,369-sq ft property is let to Austin Reed until 2027 at £2.45m pa. The head lease from The Crown Estate expires in 2079 with five-yearly head rent reviews to 28 per cent of ERV. After the ground rent deduction, the net rent is £2.055m pa with both the head lease and occupational lease subject to rent review in April 2010.
GPE Chief Executive Toby Courtauld, said: “At the Austin Reed store, we have acquired a prime asset giving us a variety of opportunities to enhance value through, for example lease re-structuring, reconfiguration and in the longer term, potentially wholesale redevelopment. We look forward to working with both The Crown Estate and Austin Reed to unlock the latent potential in this first class location.”
And at 122/124 Regent Street, The Great Capital Partnership, a 50:50 joint venture with Liberty International subsidiary Capital & Counties, has acquired the long leasehold interest for £8m reflecting a net initial yield of 5.00 per cent. The 8,800-sq ft multi-let property generates £0.42m pa in rent after the deduction of the head rent. The head lease from the Crown Estate expires in 2084 and is subject to head rent of 15 per cent of rents received.
The partnership already owns the lease on the adjoining property, 126/130 Regent Street and Courtauld said: “Taken together, they provide us with an exciting medium term development opportunity in a great pitch on an internationally renowned retail street.”
