Newcore Capital has acquired two education assets in Cambridge and Oxford and a food distribution asset in Colchester for a combined sum of approximately £11m, in deals reflecting a net initial yield of 6.1%.
The assets in Cambridge and Oxford, which were acquired on behalf of Newcore’s long standing core-plus separate accounts, are let to Aspect International Language Academy (trading as Kaplan International), and the food distribution centre, which is located on Gosbecks Road, Colchester (pictured), has been acquired on behalf of Newcore’s latest value-add fund, the Newcore Strategic Situations V (NSS V).
Harry Savory, CIO of Newcore Capital, said: “Owing to their low passing rents and the underlying societal need for the services that they enable, these three properties are expected to perform strongly on a long-term risk-adjusted basis. The properties in Cambridge and Oxford would sustain a wide range of educational uses, including childcare and special educational needs, if the current tenant ever chose to vacate. Colchester is an important hub for food distribution – an increasingly important societal trend and therefore sector of interest to Newcore.”
Hugo Llewelyn, CEO of Newcore Capital, added: “Our purchases are always very conscious of the wider societal shifts taking place in social infrastructure provision across the UK, as increasingly stretched government resources creates significant opportunity for private investment in the sector. They are similarly conscious of minimising risk to the highest extent for us, our tenants, and investors.
“Market conditions, though bleak overall, have created a fantastic window of opportunity to satisfy this requirement through the availability of social infrastructure real estate entailing resilient demand fundamentals at highly attractive discounts.”
