RO COMPLETES NEW LETTINGS AT STAINES OFFICE BUILDING

28/11/14

RO Real Estate, the UK commercial property investment and development company, has completed two new lettings, totalling circa 3,000 sq ft of space at Staines One in Staines-upon Thames, Surrey.

ASG Software Solutions has taken 2,764 sq ft on the second floor of the building, on a 5 year lease ata rent of £76,010 (£27.50 psf) with half-rent in the first 2 years.

United Closures and Plastics Limited (UCP) has taken a further 192 sq ft of space on the ground floor and it has signed a new reversionary lease on the existing 630 sq ft from December 2015, both at a rent of £27.50 psf.

Staines One is a three storey self-contained office building, with 8,095 sq ft of air-conditioned office space and secure parking for up to 33 cars. It is conveniently located near the station which provides just a 35 minute service direct to London Waterloo Station. RO Real Estate refurbished the building in 2009 and since then Staines One has always let well. There is currently only 336 sq ft available.

Richard Bourne, head of RO Real Estate, said: “These new lettings are testament to the quality of the building as we continue to retain tenants at Staines One. This positive result is in line with our strategy of buying well located assets which will let well and can be improved through active asset management.”

New Ballerino acted for RO, while Dixon Wright acted for ASG Software Solutions. UCP were unrepresented.

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For further information:
Richard Bourne, RO Real Estate
0207 025 1780
Richard.Bourne@rogroup.co.uk

Faye Walters, Tavistock Communications
020 7920 3150
fwalters@tavistock.co.uk

Notes to Editors:
RO Real Estate is a privately-owned company specialising in commercial property investment and development in the south east. It is the property division of the RO Group, which has majority interests in businesses involved in residential development, high-quality holiday lodge developments, domiciliary and specialist care services and the development of utility-scale solar energy projects.

www.rogroup.co.uk
www.rorealestate.co.uk

RO SELLS HEMEL ONE OFFICE BUILDING TO THREADNEEDLE

17/11/14

RO Real Estate, the UK commercial property investment and development company, has completed the sale of its 96,000 sq ft office building in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, to Threadneedle Investments for £17.75 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.75%.

Hemel One on Boundary Way is a grade A office building, comprising 96,000 sq ft of space over four floors. The building is fully let to a range of well-known companies, including Ericsson, Kcom and BP with an average weighted unexpired term of 5.4 years to expiries and 2.6 years to breaks.

Since acquiring the property in 2005 from 3Com, RO Real Estate has added significant value through a number of initiatives, including a comprehensive refurbishment, which have led to an increase in the headline rent from £12 per sq ft to £17 per sq ft. The property has delivered a net rental income of £1.46 million per annum.

Richard Bourne, head of RO Real Estate, said: “Hemel One has been a classic RO refurbishment and asset management play. We were able to refurbish the building, retain tenants and then lease the remainder of the space on traditional and innovative, semi-serviced office solutions.

“We are actively seeking similar value-add opportunities in the South East where our skill-set and experience will enable us to generate income and capital growth”.

Knight Frank acted for RO Real Estate, while Deloitte acted for Threadneedle.

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For further information:

Richard Bourne, RO Real Estate
0207 025 1780
Richard.Bourne@rogroup.co.uk

Faye Walters, Tavistock Communications
020 7920 3150
fwalters@tavistock.co.uk


Notes to Editors:

RO Real Estate is a privately-owned company specialising in commercial property investment and development in the south east. It is the property division of the RO Group, which has majority interests in businesses involved in residential development, high-quality holiday lodge developments, domiciliary and specialist care services and the development of utility-scale solar energy projects.

www.rogroup.co.uk

www.rorealestate.co.uk

RICHARD'S VIEW

03/11/14

WHAT MAKES A SERVICE STATION AN ATTRACTIVE ACQUISITION?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To the general public a petrol filling station is not a particularly interesting acquisition, but to the canny property investor it can offer a lot more than the eye can see.

A service station in the right location and let on a strong covenant provides a strong investment and can provide the potential for adding value and planning an alternative, higher-value use in the future.

As an example, RO Real Estate has just acquired Westacre Services, an Esso petrol filling station and convenience store on the A36, which is one of the major routes in and out of Salisbury towards Wilton and the A303.

Whenever we look to make an acquisition we focus on two things: is the asset in a strong location and does it offer covenant strength?

Westacre ticks both boxes, but it also offers a lot more. The property is currently let to Flying Visit Limited on a 15 year lease at a rent of £150,705 a year, providing a net initial yield of 7.46% after costs.

However, we discovered that there are a number of fuel sale and retail operators, that are keen to secure a position on the prominent site. In addition, the site also has excellent prospects for residential conversion in the longer term. This creates for us strong long-term income with the potential to add significant value.

We look at the end potential of every asset, and a service station is definitely one which has much more to offer than initially meets the eye.