Sale of Scottish retail assets
Town Centre Securities PLC announces sale of four retail properties in Scotland and London for a total sum of £35.2m.
The units sold comprise of two Waitrose stores in Milngavie and Glasgow; an Aldi/Home Bargains store in Milngavie; and a high street retail store in Chiswick, London.
The details of the sales are as follows:
Two Waitrose Stores:
• Sold as a single lot to Wire Oast Ltd on a freehold basis for £23.2m. Unconditional contracts have been exchanged with a completion date agreed of 8 October 2020
• The stores are located in Milngavie and Glasgow and total 70,000 square feet
• As at 30 June 2020, the combined assets were valued at £23.2 million on a freehold basis and generated annual net rent of £1.23 million.
Aldi/Home Bargains Store:
• Sold to Magell Ltd on a freehold basis for £10.66m.
• The store is located in Milngavie, Scotland, totals 36,500 square feet and is let to Aldi and Home Bargains
• Contracts have been exchanged and will complete follow the completion of the sale of the two Waitrose stores
• As at 30 June 2020, the property was valued at £10.825 million on a freehold basis and generated annual net rent of £0.5 million.
Retail property, Chiswick
• The sale of this London property took place through an auction process in August. Let to a local florist on the ground floor with residential upper floors, the property sold for £1.4m
• As at 30 June 2020 the property was valued at £1.13 million on a freehold basis and generated annual net rent of £0.1 million.
The proceeds of all sales will initially be used to reduce bank debt and thereby improve LTV.
Edward Ziff, chairman and chief executive of Town Centre Securities, said;
These disposals represent an acceleration of our strategy to reposition TCS’s portfolio; reducing our retail exposure, and enabling a significant reduction in bank debt.
“We have successfully navigated an extremely difficult period as a result of the COVID-19 disruption, and have continued to receive high levels of rent receipts. That said it has become increasingly clear that we need to reset and reinvigorate the business. These disposals represent the beginning of that process.
“Reducing indebtedness and increasing headroom for growth ensures TCS is better placed to move forward beyond the current period of uncertainty.”
