LondonMetric JV buys retail park for £38m

LondonMetric Property said on Thursday that it has bought a NNN retail asset from an open-ended property fund for £38m through one of its joint ventures.

The 68,000 sq ft property is located on a five-acre site on the Old Kent Road in South East London and is let to B&Q, Pets at Home and Halfords. The site has planning for 1,100 new residential apartments.

LondonMetric has also materially extended the weighted average unexpired lease term and increased the annual rent by 54% to £2.1m, with 85% of the income subject to contractual rent reviews.

Following the acquisition, LondonMetric has a 69% equity interest in the JV.

Chief executive Andrew Jones said: "This is an exceptional asset in a prime central London location where the demand for higher value alternative uses more than underpins the purchase price.

"The simultaneous regears and rental increases demonstrate our strong retailer relationships and high occupier commitment to retain representation in a location where de-retailing is seeing quality retail space lost to alternative uses on an almost unprecedented basis."