Blackrock raises further €75m for UK Long Lease Fund

Global asset manager Blackrock has raised a further £60 mln (€75 mln) in the second close of its UK Long Lease Property Fund.

The fund has invested £250 mln in 20 long lease property assets since its first close in June 2013.

The Blackrock UK Long Lease Property Fund has a diverse portfolio, with a focus on investing in assets that are integral to the tenants business. Recent deals include a sale and leaseback with Technip in Aberdeen, which is on a 20-year lease, a car park at St James Street Nottingham on a 51-year lease and a Premier Inn Hotel at Gatwick on a 31-year lease.

'There has been much appetite from institutional investors for real estate over the past five years, as they have sought alternative ways to help match liabilities,' said Geoffrey Shaw, portfolio manager of the Blackrock UK Long Lease Property Fund. 'Investors still have a strong need for inflation-linked, long-term secure income and assets such as long lease property are ideally suited to provide this. By focusing on the occupational area of the sector, the fund is well placed to deliver a higher than average distribution to investors to help them meet their income needs.'

The Blackrock UK Long Lease Property Fund is targeting a distribution yield in excess of 5% and an average lease term of at least 20 years.