An acquisitions partnership set up four years ago by Ediston Real Estate and Europa Capital has made its first purchase by taking control of a Norfolk shopping centre.
Edinburgh property investor Ediston Real Estate and London-based real estate fund manager, Europa Capital, joined forces in 2011 with the formation of UK Opportunity Partnership. It has a warchest of close to £100m.
Now the joint venture has spent £20.6m of that to buy Great Yarmouth’s Pasteur Retail Park from a company managed by London & Capital.
The 122,000 sq ft retail warehouse complex lists B & Q, Home Bargains, Pets at Home and Argos among its long-term tenants. It has one vacant unit with discussions already underway with a national retailer.
Established to acquire a portfolio of retail warehouse and office properties in the UK, with the intention of enhancing value through asset management initiatives, the partnership is already hinting at a further acquisition on the horizon.
“With respect to the Great Yarmouth asset discussions are under way regarding the letting of the vacant unit, with an exciting retailer and there are a number of other interesting asset management initiatives which are being considered which will help drive returns,” said Danny O’Neill, a founding partner at Ediston.
Robert Sim is a partner and head of Northern Europe at Europa Capital. “Pasteur Retail Park is the first acquisition of the new joint venture with Ediston Real Estate,” he explained, “and we are delighted with this quality asset which provides solid income and a number of asset management opportunities.
“Ediston is an experienced partner with whom we can create value through selective purchases and active asset management,” Sim added.
Last month Ediston unveiled a £200m package of retail and office developments across the UK specifically targeted to “meet positive occupier demand in an environment of limited supply and to satisfy the strong weight of institutional investment in retail parks and regional offices”.
The projects — to be rolled out throughout 2015 — will see the Scottish company expand its retail park portfolio by a further 323,000 sq. ft. During the year, Ediston will also launch a major new £45m, 113,000 sq ft office building in Bath for the Ediston Opportunity Fund. The city’s first Grade A office building in almost two decades, the development will be ready for occupation by early 2017.
Commenting on the plans, Andy McKinlay, Ediston’s director of development, said: “Over the last three years we have had tremendous success in the creation of institutional stock from the refurbishment of well-located but secondary retail and office property and the delivery of speculative office re-developments.
“Our focus in 2015 is to build upon that success, and deliver the consented retail park developments we have worked hard to secure and prelet in 2014, but also to acquire office refurbishment opportunities and sites for speculative office development in regional centres where we believe we can add significant value and expertise to growing institutional demand,” he added.
