£77.0 million Acquisition in London St Pancras

RNS Number : 3005U

Life Science REIT PLC

02 December 2021

 

2 December 2021

LEI: 213800RG7JNX7K8F7525

Life Science REIT plc

("Life Science REIT" or the "Company")

£77.0 million acquisition in London St Pancras

from a JV of Newmark Properties, Argo Real Estate and Investec Bank

First major transaction following the Company's IPO in November 2021

Life Science REIT (AIM: LABS), the real estate investment trust focused on UK life science properties, announces that, on 1 December 2021, it completed the acquisition of Rolling Stock Yard¹, a premium, nine-storey office and laboratory building near London's St Pancras station from a joint venture of Newmark Properties, Argo Real Estate and Investec Bank. The purchase price of £77.0 million, excluding acquisition costs, was satisfied entirely in cash and reflects an attractive net initial yield of 4.4%.

This acquisition was under exclusivity at the time of the Company's IPO last month and marks the first major transaction to be completed by the Company.

Rolling Stock Yard, which comprises more than 50,000 sq ft of high quality office and laboratory space, is located on York Way in the vibrant development area north of King's Cross and St Pancras stations. The building was completed in March 2020 and meets the Company's sustainability objectives with a BREEAM Excellent rating and an EPC rating of A.

Occupancy of the property, which has attracted major life science companies including Gyroscope Therapeutics, is at 76%, with the Company benefiting from an 18 month rental guarantee on the remainder. The property currently generates £3,478,000 of contracted rent per annum including guarantees. The property has a weighted average unexpired lease term (WAULT) of 7 years.

Initial asset management plans for the building include   leasing the vacant space, with a variety of potential occupiers in the life science space already showing strong interest.

Savills acted on behalf of Life Science REIT and BH2 acted for the vendors.

Simon Farnsworth, Managing Director of Ironstone Asset Management Ltd, the Company's Investment Adviser, said:

"We are delighted to announce Life Science REIT's first major acquisition since our IPO last month.

"Rolling Stock Yard is a premium building at the heart of the important development area near London St Pancras, one of the UK's most significant life science hubs and part of the sector's 'Golden Triangle', where Google, DeepMind, the Francis Crick Institute and other major organisations have located offices along with the new Moorfields Eye Hospital which will be completed in 2026. Rolling Stock Yard offers attractive current income but importantly also includes significant asset management opportunities including the creation of further laboratory space to drive additional rental income growth."

^[1] The acquisition has been made through the purchase of Deepdale Investment Holdings Limited, the sole asset of which is the freehold interest in Rolling Stock Yard.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Ironstone Asset Management - Investment Adviser
Simon Farnsworth	via Buchanan below
Panmure Gordon - Nominated Adviser and Joint Corporate Broker	[phone]
Atholl Tweedie / Sapna Shah / Philip Shields / Chloe Ponsonby
Jefferies International Limited - Joint Corporate Broker	[phone]
Tom Yeadon / Andrew Morris / Oliver Nott
Buchanan - Financial PR	[phone]
Mark Court / Henry Wilson / Verity Parker [e-mail]

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (as it forms part of retained EU law as defined in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).

Notes to editors

Life Science REIT plc is a property business focused solely on the UK's growing life science sector, specifically targeting opportunities in the "Golden Triangle" research and development hubs of Oxford, Cambridge and London St Pancras. The Company's intention is to become the property provider of choice for life science companies in the UK, whilst enabling shareholders to gain exposure to a specific growth sector. 

The objective of the Company's investment policy is focused on capital growth, whilst also providing a growing level of income, by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of properties that are leased, or intended to be leased, to tenants operating in the life science sector in the UK. 

Life Science REIT joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange on 19 November 2021, having raised £350 million in its IPO. Its shares trade under the ticker LABS.

Further information is available at https://lifesciencereit.co.uk

 

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