European property fund manager Standard Life Investments (SLI) has completed a series of acquisitions totalling £155 mln (EUR 185 mln) in the UK on behalf of its Long Lease property fund.
European property fund manager Standard Life Investments (SLI) has completed a series of acquisitions totalling £155 mln (EUR 185 mln) in the UK on behalf of its Long Lease property fund.
On the back of increased investor interest, the vehicle provided £50 mln for a 8,000-m2 Grade A office building and a 1,140 space multi-storey car park in Phase 1of Collegelands, a 13-acre mixed-use development located in the east of Glasgow city centre. The office and the parking lot have been pre-let to the Glasgow city council for 25 and 31 years respectively.
Long Lease has also acquired a Tesco Supermarket in Colchester as a £43 mln sale-and-leaseback from Tesco. Other investments include the acquisition of an office and healthcare scheme in Bury Town centre for £25 mln. The 3,700-m2 office building is let to Bury Metropolitan borough council for 25 years and the 4,200-m2 health centre is let to Bury Primary Care Trust for 20 years.
The fund, which has been the top performing fund in the IPD UK PPFI All Balanced Fund sector for the past five years, also purchased the Premier Inn, Tower Hill, London for £25 mln, as well as a Sainsbury's supermarket in Southport for £9.5 mln.
'Despite strong competition in the investment market, we've been able to complete the purchase of several quality assets that have enhanced both the diversity of holdings and the quality of income in the fund', said fund manager Richard Marshall. He added: 'It continues to enjoy the support of a large number of institutional investors and is open to further contributions from existing investors as well as from new investors.'
The Long Lease vehicle currently holds 40 properties with assets under management valued at £639 mln.
