UK Commercial Property Trust Limited has announced that on 24 June 2016 it completed the sale of Dolphin House, an office in Sunbury-on-Thames, having also completed the sale, earlier in the month, of 6 Arlington Street, in London’s St James’s. The sales were completed in two separate transactions for a total consideration of GBP45.6 million, which together represented an aggregate 14% premium to 31 March 2016 market value.
Dolphin House, which comprises 40,000 sq ft of office space, has been sold to a UK residential development company. Acquired by UKCPT in 2006, the Company deployed a number of asset management initiatives achieving a planning consent for residential development through the use of a permitted development right.
In a separate transaction, 6 Arlington Street, an 18,000 sq ft freehold property opposite The Ritz, has been sold to a private purchaser. The asset contains a high end art gallery on the ground floor, offices on the first to fourth floors, and residential apartments on the fifth floor. It is situated in a prominent position in the St James’s area and is fully income producing. Since first acquiring the property in 2006, UKCPT has overseen a range of value-add initiatives to improve income, as well as obtaining planning permission to convert the site into residential use.
These sales, which were agreed with their respective purchasers prior to the result of the UK referendum on EU membership, leave the Company with approximately GBP70 million of uncommitted cash. Following these transactions, and based on the Company’s 31 March 2016 valuations, net leverage is approximately 10.8% (gross leverage 18.2%) at a weighted average fixed cost of 2.89% per annum. The weighted average term of the Company’s borrowings is approximately 6 1/2 years, with the next refinancing due in April 2020.
UKCM : UK Commercial Property announces two disposals