May 18, 2009
Salmon Harvester Opportunity Fund, has acquired Surrey House and Lever House, a 165,000 sq ft mixed use Investment in the centre of Kingston Upon Thames, from APIA Regional office Fund for £20,45m. This reflects an initial yield of 7.63% rising to over 10% on letting its vacant space.
This is the largest mixed use investment acquisition in the South East this year and the first purchase for the £150m Opportunity Fund, a joint venture formed by Salmon Harvester Properties with backing of NFU Mutual, to take advantage of the current market opportunities.
The properties, located in the heart of Kingston’s proposed extended shopping area comprise office, leisure and retail accommodation. The net passing rents total £1,650,223 p.a. with 47 % secured for the next 64 years and the rest from retail, leisure and the car park.
Matthew Meaden, Fund Manager of the Salmon Harvester Opportunity Fund said: “We are seeing evidence of the market bottoming out in certain property sectors. With our secure financial resources, we intend to undertake selective acquisitions in order to expand our business and position us for the recovery when it comes.”
“We were attracted to buying the buildings in Kingston because of the combination of secure income and huge potential for improvement through active asset management. The property lies within the K+20 Plan for the improvement of the town centre and we look forward to taking an active role in this project.”
Lever house was constructed in the early 1970’s and includes 76,000 sq ft of office space over six floors. The property was extensively refurbished in 2003 to offer well specified office accommodation and is let to Unilever for a further 64 years.
