Investment management firm, Hunter, has finished the first acquisitions within the Hunter UK Retail Trust since the fund was launched in the summer. It comprises of three high street assets in Norwich, Ipswich and Edinburgh, with a total of £14,162,500. The closed-end vehicle’s strategy are in line with the acquisitions to invest in blocks of under used assets located in prime high street-led locations across the UK.
This involves assets in thriving town centres catering to affluent, upper quartile catchment areas with strong retail and leisure offerings.With this in mind, three high street units comprising 54,097 sq ft have been purchased in Norwich for £10.685 million. The assets, which provide important opportunities for proactive asset management, have been attained by a private investor.The same fund has also purchased two units in Ipswich town centre totalling 5,478 sq ft for £2,137,500 and a 777 sq ft unit in Frederick Street, in the heart of Edinburgh city centre, for £1.34 million.
Andrew Moffat, Fund Manager at Hunter said:
“These first deals signal a strong start to deploying the significant capital available for acquisitional activity within the Hunter UK Retail Trust fund. The purchases provide excellent opportunities for proactive asset management and our selective ‘deal by deal’ approach will continue to ensure we source the best assets for the fund. We expect to follow this announcement with our next acquisitions in the near future.”
Focusing on Hunter’s stable track record of investing in retail opportunities with significant asset management potential, the Hunter UK Retail Trust fund has been seeded with £64 million of investment from key investor Aviva Multi Manager, following an increased demand from its client base.It will be supplemented with a conservative level of debt, taking projected gross assets to over £100 million.
With anticipating returns of around 10 per cent for the Hunter UK Retail Trust, this reflects the fund’s unique sector specialism.The launch of Hunter UK Retail Trust fund further pushes the firm’s existing relationship with Aviva Multi Manager, which previously invested in the Retail Plus Property Trust, a joint Hunter/Rockspring fund, which has now closed.
By benefiting from the partners’ track record in retail investment, the Retail Plus Property Trust reported total returns of 10 per cent annualised over the 10 years, making it the strongest performer in the AREF universe over that time period against both specialist and balanced funds.
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