8 Dec 2015 09:30
For immediate release | 8 December 2015 |
LXB RETAIL PROPERTIES PLC
(the "Company" or the "Group")
Conditional disposal of investment at Brocklebank, Greenwich
On 7 December 2015 LXB Retail Properties Plc, the Jersey resident closed-ended real estate investment company focused on edge of town and out of town retail assets, exchanged contracts for the sale of its investment at Brocklebank, Greenwich to The Charities Property Fund, managed by Savills Investment Management. The sale is conditional on fulfilment of certain construction and letting related matters. These are all in hand and are expected to be satisfied by early 2016, at which point the purchase will be unconditional and initial cash proceeds of £22.8m will be received.
In addition, The Charities Property Fund will fund the development costs with the Group retaining responsibility for overseeing the development of Brocklebank Retail Park and for letting the final remaining unit, pre-lets having already been exchanged with Primark, Next and Aldi.
This agreement reflects an underlying yield of 4.25% for this investment and when it becomes unconditional, a further uplift to NAV (when compared with the 31 March 2015 property valuation) of £3.7m (2p per share) will be crystallised.
A further cash receipt, which is currently estimated to be £5.2m, will be received once the scheme has achieved Practical Completion and when all of the Leases have been completed. The quantum of this balance is dependent on both the final letting terms achieved on the remaining unit and the total development costs, but practical completion is currently expected to occur in October 2016.
Commenting on this exchange of contracts, Tim Walton, CEO of LXB Adviser LLP said:-
'This is excellent news for the shareholders of LXB Retail Properties Plc and a testament to the quality of the Group's investments. The final outcome in terms of NAV accretion is dependent on the terms which can be achieved on the final unit but with adjacency to three major retail brands in a great (and growing) catchment area, there is every reason to be optimistic.'
For further information please contact:
LXB Adviser LLP Tel: 020 7432 7900
Tim Walton, CEOBrendan O'Grady, FD
J.P. Morgan Cazenove (NOMAD) Tel: 020 7742 4000
Bronson Albery / Paul Hewlett
Buchanan Tel: 020 7466 5000
Charles Ryland/ Vicky Watkins