Capital & Regional today announces the £7.8 million acquisition of Fareham House in Hemel Hempstead in an off-market transaction.

The acquisition, which is immediately adjacent to both the Marlowes shopping centre and Edmonds Parade, which were acquired by the Company in February 2016, means that Capital & Regional now has the significant opportunity of consolidating all three assets into a single, dominant town centre scheme. Altogether, the properties provide 340,000 sq ft of retail space across 87 retail units, with 1,200 car parking spaces.

The transaction represents a considerable success in the opportunity that we now have in Hemel Hempstead

Chief Executive
Hugh Scott-Barrett

The total acquisition cost of the three properties is £53.8 million, representing a yield of 7.0% on the retail space. The transactions have been funded using existing cash, a small draw-down on the Group's central facility and a non-recourse loan with the Royal Bank of Scotland of £26.9 million. The loan runs for five years with two one year extensions available at the end of each of the first two years. The rate of interest payable on the loan following hedging is expected to be around 3.3%.

Hugh Scott-Barrett, Chief Executive, commented:

"We have worked hard to acquire Fareham House off-market and the transaction represents a considerable success in the opportunity that we now have in Hemel Hempstead, a strong south east commuter town with significant growth potential that has, historically, been under-invested in.

"Together, the three acquisitions we have undertaken provide us with effective control of the town centre retail offer and unlock attractive longer-term prospects for a more comprehensive development and repositioning that fit well with our asset management capabilities."

The Company is also on the afternoon of Monday 21 March 2016 hosting an investor visit to The Mall, Walthamstow, comprising a presentation from senior managers followed by a tour of the centre. No new material trading or financial information will be disclosed and the presentation will be available here on the C&R website after 14:30 on Monday 21 March 2016.