AEWU acquires Shrewsbury retail park for £8.35m

AEW UK REIT plc has announced that it has acquired the 5.65 acre Arrow Point Retail Park in Shrewsbury for a purchase price of £8.35m. The established retail park is located on a busy commercial estate and is fully let. The purchase price reflects a low capital value of £88 per square foot (£1.48m per acre).

The estate provides a net initial yield of 8.7%, with low passing rents compared to competing locations, while being underpinned by industrial and trade rents.

Arrow Point Retail Park comprises a modern purpose-built retail park constructed in 2007, arranged across 9 units in two terraces with 176 car parking spaces to the front. The retail park is prominently located within the main retail warehouse provision of Shrewsbury, approximately 2.5 miles north east of the town centre, tenants include British Heart Foundation, Poundstretcher and Charlie’s Stores and neighbours retail occupiers including Matalan and B&M Home Store.

Alex Short, Portfolio Manager, AEW UK REIT, commented: “We are pleased to have acquired the Arrow Point Retail Park. This is an excellent fit for our portfolio and an excellent new contributor to AEWU’s income stream, putting to use the profit from the sale of the Solihull office asset in February this year. Retail remains a small percentage of the portfolio’s composition and, while we continue to take a cautious approach to this sector, the tenant profile of the site is strong and we are confident that we can manage the assets to drive value for shareholders over the medium to long-term.”