Re Acquisition

31 Aug 2006 07:01

Wichford plc31 August 2006 WICHFORD PLC ACQUISITION OF TWO PROPERTIES FOR A TOTAL OF £8.66 MILLION Wichford plc ("Wichford" or the "Company"), the property investment company,today announces the acquisition of two properties for a total consideration of£8,669,350. The two properties are located in Croydon and Worthing and total 54,226 sq. ft.They produce a combined rental income of £878,833 per annum giving a blended netyield on the acquisition price of 9.72%. The two properties are: Quest House, Croydon The property consists of a 38,255 sq. ft. office building let to the ImmigrationAuthority until December 2009 but with rolling tenant break clauses everyquarter day. The current total rent per annum is £670,833 which is £17.50 persq. ft. The property has in the past received planning permission for an officedevelopment of 106,000 sq. ft. but this has since lapsed. At the acquisition price of £5.32 million the net initial yield to Wichford is12%. The property will be added to the Active Portfolio. Saxon House, Worthing The property consists of a 15,971 sq. ft. office building let to the EnvironmentAgency until September 2013. The total current rental income is £208,000 per annum which reflects £13 per sq.ft. The next review is July 2008. Wichford plc acquired the share capital of the SPV holding the property. On thebasis of the price paid for the property of £3,349,350 the net initial yield is6.08%. Michael Sheehan, chairman of Wichford plc commented; "We are delighted with the two acquisitions announced today and this continuesour programme of selective buying where we can find high initial yields andwhere we believe we've found properties for our Active Portfolio that canbenefit from our asset management expertise". Enquiries Citigate Dewe Rogerson Tel: 020 7638 9571George CazenoveHannah Seward Notes to Editors Wichford PLC is a property investment company, with a portfolio focused on UKinvestment property outside Central London occupied exclusively by UK CentralGovernment bodies. Following these acquisitions, the Company will have 65properties under management with a gross asset value of circa £448 milliongenerating a rental income of over £27.8 million per annum. The Companymaintains a portfolio of properties across the UK with unit values usuallybetween £2 million and £25 million. The properties are occupied by UK CentralGovernment bodies and all are outside Central London. The Company's currentportfolio has a weighted average unexpired lease term of circa 10 years. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange