Aew Uk Reit Regulatory News (AEWU)

09 February 2018

AEW UK REIT acquires Wakefield business park for £4.2m

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 Diamond Business Park in Wakefield for £4.2m.

The 201,543 sq ft multi-let property has a Net Initial Yield of 11.5% and comprises an industrial and office element. On the industrial side, there are 13 units totalling 172,584 sq ft leased to a range of companies including CB Imports Ltd and Compac UK Ltd. The 27,098 sq ft office space is subdivided into smaller suites. The main occupant is AFI-Uplift, the supplier of powered access lift machinery. The total property has a weighted average unexpired lease term (WAULT) of 3 years to break and 6 years to expiry.

The large site benefits from being situated in Wakefield, an established industrial location. The business park is strategically located at the intersection of the M1/M62 motorways, providing access to Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and beyond to London.

Alex Short, Portfolio Manager, AEW UK REIT, commented: "The key attractions to purchasing the park were its high yield and the relatively low capital value per sq ft. The site looks particularly valuable as it is located in an area of the country lacking in availability of similar industrial space. The relatively short unexpired lease length allows us to actively manage the estate which we hope will grow the income stream from the property going forward. The office element also creates the potential to add value via change of use in the long term."

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 £10 million), 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.

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 €57 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 €26.6 billion in value in properties of all types located in 15 countries, with close to 400 staff.

www.aewuk.co.uk

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About AEW Europe

AEW is one of the world's largest real estate asset managers, with over €57bn 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 Investment Managers, one of the largest asset managers in the world.

As at 30 September 2017, AEW managed €26.6bn 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 €17.5bn of real estate across European markets.

www.aeweurope.com