Henderson fund acquires retail park for EUR 41.6m

Henderson Global Investors has announced that its pan-European retail property fund, Herald, has acquired the Stanley Green Retail Park in Wilmslow, Manchester, from Aviva Investors for £35.6 mln (EUR 41.6 mln). This represents a net initial yield of 7%.

The acquisition marks Herald’s return to the UK retail market and the fund currently has around EUR 150 mln available to take advantage of current and future opportunities arising from the ongoing market correction. Herald's primary focus is on acquiring prime retail park assets across the UK, France and Germany, although it will consider opportunities in other regions.

The Stanley Green Retail Park has 8,450 m² of retail space let to a strong mix of national and international retail brands including TK Maxx, Next, B&Q, Halfords and Comet, with an average lease length of over nine years.

Commenting on the acquisition, David Turner, fund manager of Henderson's Herald Fund said: 'Stanley Green is an asset of great quality, and one that fits in with all of our investment criteria in terms of lease length, quality of tenant, yield and long term income potential.

We have seen a heavy correction in the values of UK retail assets since the start of the economic downturn and in a number of markets, particularly the UK, pricing is beginning to look attractive, despite the ongoing challenges many retailers are facing. We have around EUR 150 mln of ungeared equity available that we have not deployed over the last couple of years, which will allow us to acquire prime assets such as Stanley Green.'

Henderson was advised by Everton Phillips. Wilkinson Williams advised Aviva Investors.