29 Jan 2014 12:00
For immediate release | 29 January 2014 |
LXB RETAIL PROPERTIES PLC
(the "Company" or the "Group")
Update on Investment Portfolio
Continued Good Progress
The Group provides the following update on several of the investments within its portfolio:
Banbury Gateway
The Group's announcement on 13 January 2014 reported that exchange of contracts was anticipated shortly on a further pre-letting at Banbury Gateway. Contracts have now been exchanged with Primark to take 60,000 sq ft of space (30,000 sq ft on the ground floor) on a 15 year lease. This news follows the previous lettings to M&S, Next and River Island and means the scheme is now 69% pre-let. The Group hopes to have clarified the planning permission and obtained vacant possession to allow work to start on site by early 2015.
The announcement on 13 January 2014 also advised that Scottish Widows and Aegon had filed notices in the Court of Appeal seeking permission to appeal against the High Court's dismissal of their request for a judicial review of the planning permission for the proposed Banbury Gateway retail investment. The Group is not aware of any further developments regarding this.
Biggleswade
The Group has exchanged contracts with Arcadia for the pre-letting of a 16,000 sq ft (10,000 sq ft on the ground floor) store at the A1 Shopping Park. This follows the previously announced pre-lets to M&S, Next and Matalan.
Demolition work to clear the site and enable the first phase has now been completed, and construction is expected to commence in late March 2014. This will involve the relocation of Matalan before work can start on the stores for the anchor tenants, M&S and Next.
A Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) has been served by the local council on the existing tenants to ensure vacant possession can be secured if negotiations cannot be concluded satisfactorily without relying on a CPO, to enable the remainder of the development to be completed.
After the recent exchange of contracts with Arcadia, 183,000 sq ft (113,000 sq ft on the ground floor) is now let or pre-let including the Homebase store which is being left in situ, representing 55% of the total consented space (51% of the ground floor space) at the A1 Shopping Park.
In addition to the signed pre-lets, several other units are under offer to new and incumbent retailers and the Group anticipates that further announcements will be made in the near future.
The Group also owns an additional site opposite the main scheme, which has planning permission for a further 30,000 sq ft of Open A1 retail space.
Greenwich Brocklebank
On 28 January 2014 the planning committee of the Royal Borough of Greenwich resolved to grant Open A1 retail planning consent for a proposed 4 unit scheme comprising up to 159,985 sq ft (76,500 on the ground floor). The resolution is subject to signing a Section 106 agreement. The retail scheme will replace the recently vacated Matalan store at Bugsby's Way and the Brocklebank industrial estate. Negotiations are ongoing with a number of the remaining tenants on the industrial estate regarding relocation within the Borough.
Sutton
Following the resolution to grant planning permission which was obtained in December 2013, a Section 106 agreement was signed on 23 January 2014 and planning permission was issued by the London Borough of Sutton on the same date.
In addition, the Greater London Authority and the Secretary of State have both confirmed that they do not intend to call in the application. The planning permission is now complete allowing this comprehensive redevelopment of the Group's six acre town centre site to go ahead. On completion, the Group's investment will include a 123,000 sq ft foodstore (pre-let to Sainsbury's), 27,500 sq ft of further retail space and 186 residential units.
The Group has recently exercised its option to acquire the Magnet building for £3.615m with completion due in early February 2014 and terms have also been agreed with Southern Gas Networks (the owner and operator of the gas holder site) to purchase the final part of the site, once the gas holders are decommissioned.
The Group is in the process of preparing tenders for the demolition of the existing buildings and remediation of the site with those works likely to commence in March.
The Group is on track with its other investments and will update the market as appropriate in due course.
For further information please contact:
LXB Adviser LLP Tel: 020 7432 7900Tim Walton, CEOBrendan O'Grady, FD
Buchanan Tel: 020 7466 5000Charles Ryland/Sophie McNulty/Helen Greenwoodwww.buchanan.uk.com