AEW UK REIT PLC AEW UK REIT acquires Gloucester office block (8980Z)

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RNS Number : 8980Z

AEW UK REIT PLC

20 December 2017

20 December 2017

AEW UK REIT acquires Gloucester office block for GBP3.1m

AEW UK REIT plc ("the Company"), which directly owns a diversified portfolio of regional UK commercial property assets, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Cedar House, Spa Road, Gloucester for GBP3.1m.

The five-storey office block, which is located within the city centre adjacent to Gloucester Park, has been acquired for a price reflecting a low capital value of only GBP80 per sq ft and an attractive net initial yield of 9.1%. The property is currently let to the Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government for use as a Job Centre, with a short unexpired lease term of 0.3 years. However, the tenant has already served a Section 26 notice to renew the lease and as such the Investment Manager believes that the income can be extended.

The property is situated within a mixed office and residential area and as such the Investment Manager believes that it provides good long-term alternative use potential. Public transport is easily accessible, with good links to Gloucester Railway Station and a central bus route.

The asset provides a total floor area of 38,427 sq ft and includes substantial car parking facilities, with 103 spaces available.

Alex Short, Portfolio Manager, AEW UK REIT, commented: "We are delighted to have completed this latest acquisition following our successful capital raise in October. Heading into 2018, we are pleased to have an attractive pipeline of investment opportunities ahead of us and with further assets under offer we expect to make more acquisition announcements shortly."

On 20 October AEW UK REIT announced that it had raised GBP28.1m through the initial issue of the Share Issuance Programme, as described in the prospectus published by the Company on 28 September 2017.

ENDS

About AEW UK REIT

AEW UK REIT plc (LSE: AEWU) aims to deliver an attractive total return to shareholders by investing predominantly in smaller commercial properties (typically less than GBP10m), on shorter occupational leases in strong commercial locations across the United Kingdom. The Company was listed on the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and admitted to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange on 12 May 2015, raising GBP100.5m. Since IPO it has raised a further GBP51m.

The Company is currently invested in office, retail, industrial and leisure assets, with a focus on active asset management, repositioning the properties and improving the quality of the income stream.

AEWU is currently paying an annualised dividend of 8p per share.

www.aewukreit.com

About AEW UK Investment Management LLP

The Investment Manager AEW UK Investment Management LLP is a 50:50 joint venture between the principals of the Investment Manager and AEW. It employs a well-resourced team comprising 25 individuals covering investment, asset management, operations and strategy. It is part of AEW Group, one of the world's largest real estate managers, with EUR57 billion of assets under management as at 30 September 2017. AEW Group comprises AEW SA and AEW Capital Management L.P., a U.S. registered investment manager and their respective subsidiaries. In Europe, as at 30 September 2017, AEW Group managed EUR26.6 billion in value in properties of all types located in 15 countries, with close to 400 staff.

AEW UK Enquiries:

 
Alex Short             [e-mail] 
                       [phone] 
 
  Laura Elkin           [e-mail] 
                       [phone] 
 
  Nicki Gladstone       [e-mail] 
                       [phone] 
Company Secretary 
Link Company Matters   [e-mail] 
                        [phone] 
Temple Bar Advisory    [phone] 
 Ed Orlebar             [phone] 
 Tom Allison            [phone] 
 Alycia MacAskill       [phone] 
 

About AEW Europe

AEW is one of the world's largest real estate asset managers, with over EUR57bn of assets under management as at 30 September 2017. AEW has over 600 employees, with its main offices located in Boston, London, Paris and Hong Kong and offers a wide range of real estate investment products including comingled funds, separate accounts and securities mandates across the full spectrum of investment strategies. AEW represents the real estate asset management platform of Natixis Global Asset Management, one of the largest asset managers in the world.

As at 30 September 2017, AEW managed EUR26.6bn of real estate assets in Europe on behalf of a number of funds and separate accounts. AEW has close to 400 employees based in 10 offices across Europe and has a long track record of successfully implementing core, value-add and opportunistic investment strategies on behalf of its clients. In the last five years, AEW has invested and divested a total volume of over EUR17.5bn of real estate across European markets.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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December 20, 2017 03:18 ET (08:18 GMT)