Orchard Street completes £850 million of acquisitions in 2015

Orchard Street Investment Management (‘Orchard Street’), the specialist commercial property investment manager, completed four acquisitions valued at £175 million at the end of 2015, concluding a record year which saw it make 17 commercial real estate investments across the UK totalling £850 million, bringing total funds under management to over £5 billion.

The four distinct acquisitions completed in December 2015 were all on behalf of St. James’ Place and comprise the following:

• A portfolio of eight garden centres was purchased for £91 million as a sale and leaseback agreement with Wyevale Garden Centres, who signed a new lease for a term of 25 years. The centres are located across the UK, in Gosforth, Altrincham, Nantwich, Leicester, Huntington, Braintree, Woking and Osterley.
• Wellbar Central, a prime freehold office building in the centre of Newcastle, was acquired for £40.1 million from Moonglade Holdings, representing a net initial yield of 6.04%. The 117,679 sq ft multi-let building was completed in 2010. Rents range from £19 psf to £21 psf.
• The Exchange Buildings in Birmingham was purchased for £40.4 million from Aviva, reflecting a net initial yield of 4.47%. A prime retail and hotel investment, the asset is prominently positioned in the centre of the city and has excellent growth prospects. The asset is fully let to seven tenants on a WAULT of 13.7 years, with 90% of the rental income derived from Premier Inn hotel, HSBC Bank, and McDonalds.
• Completing the ownership of an island site on Briggate in Leeds, 8/9 Kirkgate was acquired for £2.075 million, and brings the entire block under St. James’ Place’s ownership enabling significant future asset management. The upper floors of the new retail asset are let to Debenhams for a further 17 years, while a small retail unit fronting onto Fish Street is let to Hair Net. The ground floor retail unit is currently vacant.

Philip Gadsden, Managing Partner at Orchard Street, commented:

“These diverse, prime acquisitions completed at the end of 2015 conclude a very strong year for Orchard Street which saw us complete a total of £850m of acquisitions and total transaction volume of £1.15bn. Our investment and asset management teams have effectively worked together to source and acquire prime assets with attractive value-add potential, and we look forward to further fruitful activities in 2016, delivering bespoke investment strategies on behalf of our clients.”