Custodian REIT plc : Purchase of Property

  27 September 2018

Custodian REIT plc

("Custodian REIT" or the "Company")

Purchase of Property

Custodian REIT (LSE: CREI), the UK property investment company, is pleased to announce a further property purchase.

The Company has acquired Foundry House, a 26,051 sq ft office building within Riverside Exchange, an established office location on the northern edge of Sheffield city centre adjacent to the inner ring road.

The property is let to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government operating branches of the Home Office and the Health and Safety Executive on two leases expiring on 30 June 2022, with aggregate passing rent of £371,299 per annum reflecting a net initial yield[1] of 9.79%.

The agreed purchase price of £3.56 million was funded from the Company's existing debt facilities, resulting in net gearing[2] increasing to 23.1% loan to value.

Commenting on the acquisition, Richard Shepherd-Cross, Managing Director of Custodian Capital Limited (the Company's discretionary investment manager), said:

"We are delighted to have secured this recently refurbished office building in Sheffield city centre where the office market has grown year-on-year since 2014.  The property offers open-plan, well configured floor plates from 5,455 sq ft which are a good fit with local occupational demand and its position opposite a Home Office occupied 200,000 sq ft office building supports the potential long-term commitment of the tenant."

1 Passing rent divided by valuation plus estimated purchaser's costs.

2 Gross borrowings less unrestricted cash divided by last published property portfolio valuation.

-Ends-

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Notes to Editors

Custodian REIT plc is a UK real estate investment trust, which listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange on 26 March 2014.  Its portfolio comprises properties predominantly let to institutional grade tenants on long leases throughout the UK and is principally characterised by small lot sizes, with individual property values of less than £10 million at acquisition. 

The Company offers investors the opportunity to access a diversified portfolio of UK commercial real estate through a closed-ended fund.  By targeting smaller lot size properties, the Company intends to provide investors with an attractive level of income with the potential for capital growth. 

Custodian Capital Limited is the discretionary investment manager of the Company. 

For more information visit www.custodianreit.com and www.custodiancapital.com.