Royal London Sheds Sheds

LONDON-The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society has sold three large industrial properties in the Midlands and North-West for over £27 million ($39 million). The sales are part of the drive to rebalance the portfolio following Royal London’s merger with Scottish Life.

A 221,361 sf unit in Bilston West Midlands, let to the retailer Index, has been sold to Prudential Portfolio Managers Life Fund for £11million ($16 million). The purchase price shows an initial yield of 8.04%.

In the second deal, again in Bilston, a 152,703 sf unit let to SLB Holdings was sold to Canada Life for £7.025 million ($10 million) to produce an initial yield of 8.18%. Ltd. The third sale was the 186,964 sf Post Office unit in Chester, sold to IM Properties for £8.368 million ($12 million) at an initial yield of 7.65%.

Richard Pardoe, Head of Property Investment at Royal London said the fund was looking to dispose of some of its larger single let industrial/distribution investments following the recent merger with Scottish Life and United Friendly Assurance Society. And Neville Pritchard, Investment Partner at King Sturge who handled the sales, said institutions were now looking to increase the proportion of properties in their portfolios which offer opportunities for active management. ‘They are capitalising on the strong market for well let properties,’ he said.