Asset manager has acquired a 66,000sqft town centre office building in Reading on behalf of its UK core-plus property fund.
The manager鈥檚 AEW UK Core Plus Property Fund has invested 拢8m (鈧�9.4m) to buy Northgate House on Valpy Street from a private property company. The office building is occupied by a government department.
The acquisition forms part of AEW鈥檚 strategic site assembly, adding to its existing ownership of Tangent House and a public house to the rear of Northgate House, creating a highly prominent site in a location lending itself to multiple end uses.
Michael Shears, executive director at AEW, said: 鈥淭he acquisition of Northgate House is in line with the fund鈥檚 investment strategy of acquiring assets in core locations which are underpinned by long-term, strong capital values with optionality in viable end use.
鈥漀orthgate House sits on a gateway site in Reading town centre in a market with limited new delivery of grade-A office space.鈥�
In May last year, AEW changed the investment strategy of its UK Core Property Fund to core-plus and increased its maximum leverage capacity to 30% of the value of the fund鈥檚 total assets. The fund was renamed the AEW UK Core Plus Property Fund.
At the time the manager said the fund 鈥渨ill seek to capitalise on market inefficiencies and acquire attractively priced and high-quality multi-sector commercial real estate at the margins of prime locations across the UK鈥�, with the aim of achieving 鈥渟uperior investment returns over the long term鈥�.
The strategy focuses on strong stock selection and identifying properties with high income streams and the potential for active asset management to increase capital value.
To read the latest 91传媒在线 magazine click here.
