Dual-listed property investment company Stenprop has acquired two industrial estates in Glasgow and Wolverhampton, in the UK, in separate transactions, for £7.1-million.
The first of the two new estates is the Western Campus at the Strathclyde Business Park, in Glasgow, which was acquired from Central Assets for £4.6-million and reflects a net initial yield of 6.8%.
Western Campus was built in 2016 and totals 44 234 ft2 across 15 industrial units and is currently 75% let.
The total yearly passing rent is about £333 454, and includes rental guarantees on two of the three vacant units, which equates to a rent of £7.98/ft2.
The second estate is the Merryhills Enterprise Park, in Wolverhampton, which was acquired from two private investors for £2.5-million and reflects a net initial yield of 6.7%.
Merryhills Enterprise Park totals 37 617 ft2, comprising 32 337 ft2 of industrial accommodation in 14 units and 5 280 ft2 of office accommodation in one building with six self-contained suites.
The estate is currently 91% let and the total yearly passing rent of £179 150 equates to a rent of £4.98/ft2 on the industrial space and £7.28/ft2 on the office space.
Commenting on the acquisitions, Stenprop executive property director Julian Carey said on Friday that both estates were “modern, purpose-built industrial estates located in densely-populated areas with strong demand-supply characteristics”.
Stenprop believes that both estates provide an opportunity to add value and grow income using the company’s industrials operating platform by delivering on customer experience and leasing the vacant space.
Stenprop’s strategic focus is on the UK multi-let industrial (MLI) property market. The company plans, over the next few years, to sell all non-MLI assets and use the sale proceeds to build a focused UK MLI business.
Following the acquisitions, MLI assets account for 44.9% of Stenprop’s portfolio and the loan-to-value rate of the portfolio is 41.8%.
MLI assets are expected to comprise about 60% of Stenprop’s total portfolio of properties by March 31, 2020.