Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate has completed the acquisitions of two suburban office assets in Sandyford and Blackrock in South Dublin for an aggregate consideration of EUR76.9 million (GBP60.8 million) and Towers Business Park in Manchester for GBP82 million. The acquisitions will be funded from the Company’s existing cash resources.
KWE completed the acquisition of the Chase, Sandyford, Dublin 18 for EUR62.5 million (GBP49.4 million) from Chase Arkle plc. The purchase price reflects a yield on cost of 4.0%, with the building only 68% occupied.
The Chase, one of the top suburban office properties in South Dublin, was completed in 2009. It occupies 175,600 sq ft of space, has 242 car parking spaces and is within 20 minutes of the city centre via the nearby Luas (tram) system. It is five minutes’ drive to the M50 (Dublin’s main orbital road) with excellent connectivity to all major motorways and the airport.
The acquisition capital value psf is EUR356 with average in-place rents of EUR19 psf, which compare favourably to current ERV and provide significant reversion. The WAULT is 3.4 years (10.1 years to expiry).
Kennedy Wilson Europe also completed the acquisition of three office buildings at Blackrock Business Park, Co. Dublin in March 2016, for EUR14.4 million (GBP11.4 million) from Hudson Advisors which took control of the properties in 2014 via a loan acquisition. The purchase price reflects a yield on cost of 6.8% and a capital value psf of EUR285. The properties were completed in 2007 (comprising 50,500 sq ft of space and 85 car parking spaces) and are in close proximity to the Blackrock DART station, providing convenient access to the city centre. The properties are multi-let, with occupancy at 98.5% and with a WAULT of 5.2 years (8.3 years to expiry).
Including the above acquisitions, KWE’s Dublin suburban office portfolio comprises four assets totalling EUR90.1 million across 279,700 sq ft with an average acquisition price psf of EUR322. The portfolio is 75% let with a WAULT of 3.8 years (9.5 years to expiry).
Towers Business Park, South Manchester was acquired from Lone Star, for GBP82 million, reflecting a topped-up yield on cost of 6.7%.
Towers Business Park comprises ten prime suburban offices totalling 289,100 sq ft located in South Manchester, providing fast and convenient connectivity to Manchester City Centre and Airport. The offices are let to 21 high quality corporate occupiers, including John Lewis, British Airways, Honeywell, Oracle, Syngenta and Cisco. The top ten tenants represent 86% of topped up rental income and have been in occupation on average in excess of nine years.
The portfolio is 96% let and the majority of leases benefit from five-yearly upward-only rent reviews and a WAULT of 5.0 years (6.5 years to expiry).
KWE : Kennedy Wilson expands portfolio