Acquisition of Bedford Retail Warehouse Park

For issue 18 May 2015 Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust Limited (the `Company') ACQUISITION OF BEDFORD RETAIL WAREHOUSE PARK The Company announces that it has acquired the freehold interest in St.John's Retail Park in Bedfordfor £31.8million reflecting a net initial yield of approximately 6.5%. The property is well located approximately 1.5 milesto the south of Bedford town centre and comprises a130,000 sq ft retail warehouse park let to 12 tenants with an adjoining 11,600 sq ft office building. The retail park produces a rent of £2 million per annum which reflects a relatively low average rent of £16 per sq ft. The average unexpired lease term, assuming all tenants break at the earliest opportunity, is 7.9 years with tenants including DSG Retail Limited (24% of income expiring in September 2020) andHomebase Limited (17% of income expiring in May 2024). There is a single vacant unit comprising 5,000 sq ft where terms have been agreed for a new letting. Approximately half of the office building islet to DHL GBS (UK) Limited at £61,000 per annum reflecting a low average rent of £9.50 per sq ft, with approximately half of the remaining vacant space under offer. The acquisition satisfies the Company's investment criteria by offering: * An above average initial yield of approximately 6.5% with potential for immediate growth assuming the completion of lettings under offer to new tenants; * Good fundamentals due to tenant demand, affordable rents, low retail warehouse supply and vacancy in Bedford and above average population growth for Bedford and the surrounding area; and * Significant scope for asset management including lease extensions and widening the planning consent in order to increase the rental tone and improve the tenant mix. The property was acquired via the acquisition of shares in a UK company that had developed the property and therefore had latent capital gains tax liabilities. Following conversion to Real Estate Investment Trust (`REIT') status on 1 May, the Company has been able to extinguish these capital gains tax liabilities. This provided a competitive advantage when bidding for the property and resulted in the gross purchase price of £32.2 million. Following the acquisition of St. John's Retail Park the Company expectsits dividend to be fully covered by recurring earnings with approximately £12 million of cash remaining for on-going committed capital expenditure and operational flexibility. Looking forward, there are further potential capital expenditure initiatives that should be accretive to earnings and net asset value (`NAV'). The Company intends to fund these initiatives from selling smaller properties or the issuance of new equity from treasury. The Company is now cautious about pricing in parts of the market but may consider issuing new equity in a disciplined mannerto fund specific acquisitionsthat are accretive to earnings. Commenting, Duncan Owen, Global Head of Real Estate at Schroders said: "The acquisition follows the disposal of low or non-income producing property and results in SREIT being substantially invested with a fully covered dividend. Converting to UK-REIT status has enabled SREIT to be more agile and competitive by extinguishing the capital gains in the vendor special purpose vehicle and therefore enhancing SREIT'sinitial income return." -ENDS- For further information: Schroder Real Estate Investment Management 020 7658 6000 Limited: Duncan Owen / Nick Montgomery Northern Trust: 01481 745529 David Sauvarin FTI Consulting: 020 3727 1000 Dido Laurimore / Ellie Sweeney
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