BMO Real Estate Partners (BMO REP), the pan-European property investment and asset management firm that forms part of Canada’s BMO Financial Group, has invested £60 mln (€67 mln) across nine properties on behalf of the F&C UK Property Fund, reflecting an initial yield of 4.8%.
The investment, which was made in a range of cities throughout the UK, is split across offices (35.9%), industrial (34.5%), retail warehousing (22.5%) and retail (7.1%) in line with the fund's diversified portfolio strategy.
BMO REP said the transaction enhances the fund's overall weighting towards industrial and offices in particular. The acquisitions also improve its income return by reducing cash levels to 18%.
'The investments we have undertaken in the past year have transformed the fund’s portfolio, whilst efficiently deploying the inflows we’ve received from our committed investors over the same period,' commented Guy Glover, fund director of F&C UK Property Fund at BMO Real Estate Partners.
The acquisitions include a refurbished office in Manchester, a multi-let property in Richmond-upon-Thames, an office in Nottingham, and warehouses in Basildon, Staines, Tewkesbury, Buxton and Dorchester.
In the last 12 months, a total of £100 mln (€111 mln) has been raised and invested into the open-ended fund’s portfolio, increasing its total value by a third to £416 mln (€463 mln).
'These latest acquisitions will deliver additional high quality income, with significant opportunity to add further value through asset management and lease renegotiations. With a strong pipeline of potential transactions currently in negotiations, we are well placed to deliver a stable income return on behalf of our loyal and long term investor base,' concluded Glover.
