Gatehouse acquires IHG global HQ for EUR 37m

Gatehouse Bank has completed the acquisition of InterContinental Hotels Group´s global headquarters in Denham, Buckinghamshire in the UK for £32.5 mln (EUR 37 mln). The vendor was Tritax Property Fund.

Gatehouse is a fully Shariah compliant investment bank in London. Its real estate team originates and advised on investment for private clients from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Tritax said the transaction represented a yield of 6.22%. Investors in the fund made a capital gain of 20% in addition to quarterly income distributions at the rate of 6.25% per annum.

In May 2009 Tritax raised £12.32 mln of equity with debt which financed the £25.5 mln price, along with purchase and fund costs. The 9,000-m² foot office property was let to InterContinental Hotels Group on a lease with 13 years remaining with guaranteed minimum rent reviews of 2.5% per annum. The initial yield was 7.85%.

Earlier this month Gatehouse completed its third student accommodation deal this year, with the £29 mln acquisition of a 780-m2, newly built student accommodation property in Oxford, UK. The transaction reflected a net initial yield of 6.73% and follows the acquisition of two earlier student accommodation properties in Loughborough and Liverpool last April.