UK REIT NewRiver Retail has completed the acquisition of The Broadway shopping centre and Broadway Square retail park in Bexleyheath, south east London, for a total of £120 mln (€150 mln).
The deal equates to a net initial yield of 6.7% and an equivalent yield of 7%, with net rental income at purchase of £8.16 mln per anum.
The assets have been acquired from an unnamed institutional vendor, using existing cash resources.
The Bexleyheath assets are 100% occupied, and comprise 525,000 sq ft (48,770 m2) of retail space across an eleven-acre site with an average weighted lease expiry of 12.65 years.
The Bexleyheath assets benefit from a growing population which will be further sustained by major regeneration and infrastructure projects including Thames Gateway, Europe's largest regeneration project, which will provide 160,000 new homes in the area and direct access to Abbey Wood Crossrail station expected to be operational in 2018.
David Lockhart, CEO of NewRiver Retail, commented: 'The acquisition represents our first significant acquisition within the M25 and is our largest single shopping centre acquisition to date. This is an excellent addition to our portfolio and we are confident that our proven active asset management model will drive significant long term value for our shareholders.'
Following the acquisition of the Neptune shopping centre portfolio in January this year for £108 mln, this second major acquisition deploys the majority of the proceeds of NewRiver's £150 mln equity raise completed in January 2016.
