LaSalle fund invests EUR 74m in Scottish retail assets

LaSalle Investment Management (LaSalle) has announced that a German specialist investment fund has acquired two retail properties in Glasgow and Edinburgh for a total of £58.6 mln (EUR 74 mln).

The asset in Glasgow is located in the Style Mile and is occupied by Nike as a flagship store on a 15-year lease with an initial rent of £1.3 mln (EUR 1.6 mln). The property was purchased for £24.5 mln (EUR 31 mln), reflecting a net initial yield of 5%.

The property in Edinburgh is an 8-storey building on Princess Street with two tenants. UK fashion chain New Look occupies a 2,415 m² store on a 20-year lease, while the 97-bedroom Premier Inn Hotel holds a 19.5 year lease. The property was purchased for £34.1 mln (EUR 43.3 mln), reflecting a net initial yield of 5.5%.

The acquisitions were carried out by a fund created by LaSalle Investment Management Kapitalanlagegesellschaft (KAG). LaSalle KAG aims to achieve a total investment volume of EUR 200 mln, to be invested in office and retail properties in prime locations with long-term leases. Its geographic focus is on Germany, France and the U.K.

The fund already owns four properties in Germany, including office properties in Ratingen and Frankfurt, as well as retail properties in Koblenz and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.