UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCPT) has made two acquisitions in Newcastle and Glasgow for £50.8m. The commercial property investment company has bought the Central Square office building in Newcastle for £21.6m from Parabola Estates, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.4%. The 72,389 sq ft Grade A office space is multi-let to a range of corporate tenants, producing a combined passing rent of £1.45m a year. The building, which is located in the new Stephenson Quarter development in central Newcastle, is widely regarded as one of the city's best office buildings, having won a British Council for Offices Award for Best Refurbished Workspace. UKCPT also bought a 140,000 sq ft leisure scheme in Glasgow for £29.2m, in an off-market transaction. Located in Glasgow's city centre, the complex is anchored by a 100,000 sq ft Cineworld cinema on a long term lease, with a further 30,000 sq ft of leisure accommodation across three units. The current rent is £1.66m per year, with scope for further income growth through a range of asset management initiatives, including re-letting the vacant basement leisure unit and reconfiguring the first floor leisure unit, to which a modest capex budget will be allocated. Will Fulton, fund manager of UKCPT, said: "Individually both of these assets offer good fundamentals in terms of location and specification, and support UKCPT's strategy to reposition the portfolio for sustainable and growing income.”
The UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCPT) has made two acquisitions in Newcastle and Glasgow worth £50.8m. It is the first time that a private company has bought land for commercial purposes since the Second World War.