AEW UK Long Lease REIT invests £24m – AEW UK Long Lease REIT has four properties under offer across a range of property sectors. The combined value of the assets is GBP24m and represents over 30% of the net proceeds raised at the Company’s successful IPO on 6 June 2017. The properties are in line with the Company’s target asset profile outlined at the time of the IPO, with the focus being on alternative property sectors.
Three of the assets which the Company has so far agreed to acquire are a hotel, a gym and an ice-rink. The weighted average unexpired lease term provided by these assets is in excess of 20 years, above the portfolio’s minimum target of 18 years, with an initial yield of 6.9%; 98% of the lease income from these assets is inflation-linked. A further asset is under offer in the industrial sector which provides a longer unexpired term with predominantly inflation-linked rental income. The acquisition of these assets is expected to take place over the coming weeks and further announcements will be made in due course.
AEW UK Long Lease REIT is targeting an annual dividend of 5.5 pence per share paid quarterly, once fully invested and levered, with an ambition to grow in line with UK inflation thereafter.
Alex Short, Director of AEW UK Investment Management LLP, and Portfolio Manager of the Company said: “We are very pleased to have secured these assets under offer following the IPO last month. We continue to see a very interesting pipeline of opportunities, and are confident we will be able to deploy the funds within the timeframe we have indicated, while maintaining a rigorous investment approach.”
AEWL : AEW UK Long Lease REIT invests £24m