An Islamic institution has acquired the UK regional headquarters of global consumer products group Unilever.
An Islamic institution has acquired the UK regional headquarters of global consumer products group Unilever.
The buyer, Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH), is the Malaysian hajj pilgrims fund board and has £6 bn (€7 bn) of assets under management.
LTH, advised by Gatehouse Bank, exchanged contracts this week on the sale of Unilever House in the Surrey town of Leatherhead with the vendor, UK REIT LondonMetric.
The investment volume of £76 mln (€90 mln) reflects a net initial yield of 5.9%. The disposal is expected to complete at the end of January.
The deal comes just 18 months after LondonMetric, then London & Stamford, purchased the property for £61.1 mln (then about €76 mln, or a yield of 6.85%) from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership and Orchard Street Investment Management. The disposal generated an ungeared total return of 16.1% per annum and a geared IRR of 32.8% for LondonMetric.
The 16,360 m2 office campus arranged over three floors was purpose-built for Unilever in 2008 and houses the company's UK & Ireland headquarters.
LondonMetric said that the sale was in line with its strategy of focussing on the out-of-town retail and distribution sectors. Following the disposal, the LondonMetric office investment portfolio will comprise Marlow International in Marlow and Forest House and Elm Court Park in Crawley with a combined value of £74.1 mln, representing 7.4% of the enlarged group’s portfolio.
Knight Frank and Downey Turner Real Estate advised LondonMetric, while Savills advised Gatehouse Bank/LTH.
