October 3 2023
Sirius Real Estate, the JSE and London listed owner and operator of branded business and industrial parks providing conventional space and flexible workspace in Germany and the UK, has sold a business park in Kassel, in Germany’s southwest Hesse region, for €7.3m, representing a net initial yield (NIY) of 6.0%. The disposal was achieved at an approximate 5% premium to book value, March 2023’s €6.95m.
The asset, which is 92% let, comprises a total lettable area of 8 342 square metres of industrial, office, logistics and other space within a 16 217 square etresm plot size.
Sirius made the announcement via the JSE’s stock exchange news service. It also said it bought two mixed-use industrial assets for £9.5m for its BizSpace subsidiary in the UK, exchange of which was announced on July 27 2023. The two assets are located in Liverpool and Barnsley with a combined area of 71 957 square feet of predominantly workshop space. The purchase price represents a NIY of 9.6% on the total acquisition cost.
CEO Andrew Coombs said the deal would help clean-up the Sirius portfolio.
“Our disposal of Kassel at a premium to book value has allowed us to capitalise on demand for this high quality property. The sale of this asset at a 6.0% NIY, coupled with the completion of our acquisition of the properties in Liverpool and Barnsley at a 9.6% NIY represents a good example of our strategy of recycling capital from mature assets into those where we believe we can grow income and value through our operating platform,” said Coombs.
“In the current market we are focused on improving rental levels and providing tenants with the flexibility and services they need. We see plenty of opportunities to continue creating value through asset management across the BizSpace portfolio, as we have successfully achieved through the Sirius platform with our German assets,” he said.
alistair@propertyflash.co.za
