Legal & General said on Tuesday that its balance sheet businesses Legal & General Capital (LGC) and Legal & General Retirement (LGR), have executed a record £1.1 bn (€1.2 bn) of real asset disposals in 2017 to date.
Approximately £1 bn worth of assets went to international investors, confirming the attractiveness of the UK real estate market, according to Nigel Wilson, Legal & General CEO.
'Strong demand from international buyers demonstrates that the UK is a great place to invest,' said Wilson. 'Having invested £12 bn to date, we are on track to invest £15 bn of long-term capital in UK housing, urban regeneration, clean energy and business growth.'
Legal & General’s share of gross proceeds from the transactions is £526 mln. The company said it will reinvest proceeds in its UK regeneration programme.
As part of the active management of the asset portfolio backing its annuity liabilities, LGR recently sold 70 Gracechurch St, delivering gross proceeds of £272 mln.
In addition, LGC generated gross proceeds of £254 mln from transactions with a gross value of £817 mln (see table below). All full asset disposals met or exceeded targeted returns of 10-12% IRR, the company noted.
Transaction, gross proceeds (£mln)
Cardiff – 1 Central Square, 51
Cardiff – 2 Central Square, 56.5
Piccadilly, London, 52
Bracknell Car Park, 39.7
Arlington Business Parks Partnership, 443.2
Bishopsgate Property Fund, 84.9
Access Development Partnership, 22
NTR Wind 1 LP, 29.8
Pemberton Funds, 37.8
TOTAL 817
