Buttermarket sold for £54.7m

CAPITAL & Regional (C&R), the UK-focused specialist property real estate investment trust with a secondary listing on the JSE, has sold its Buttermarket Centre in Ipswich to the National Grid Pension Fund for £54.7 million (R883.1m). The centre was held by C&R in an equal joint venture with the Drum Property Group. C&R said yesterday that the initial consideration for the whole joint venture was £19.6m after repayment of associated debt of £19.9m, with a further consideration of £8m contingent on the completion of the letting programme for the centre, which it expressed confidence would be achieved. C&R said the net proceeds to it were expected to be £13.5m, of which £9.8m was received on completion. The investment in the joint venture had a carrying value in the group’s accounts at end-June last year of £13.6m. C&R said it would recycle the proceeds from the sale into new investment opportunities. The Buttermarket Centre was acquired in 2015 by Buttermarket Ipswich Limited for £9.6m when it was 43 percent occupied by area. An investment of £25.1m of capital transformed the scheme from a tired shopping centre into a vibrant retail and leisure destination, which was now 89 percent let. Hugh Scott-Barrett, the chief executive of C&R, said the completion of such a complex and transformational project in just a two-year period was a great showcase for the company’s particular expertise and asset management skills. “Following on from the successful sale of The Mall, Camberley, this disposal provides us with significant capital to reinvest into higher yielding opportunities,” he said. – Roy Cokayne