Global real estate investment and services firm Kennedy Wilson (NYSE:
KW) today announced that Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate Plc, a
property company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: KWE)
and sponsored and managed by Kennedy Wilson, has acquired a mixed use
property portfolio of 180 properties located in the United Kingdom from
Aviva Commercial Real Estate Finance, a subsidiary of Aviva Plc, the
UK’s largest insurer, in a transaction totaling approximately £503
million ($758 million). KWE has closed the acquisition of 163 of the 180
properties, with a value of approximately £444 million ($669 million),
and the remaining 17 properties in the portfolio are expected to close
subject to certain conditions.
“The completion of this acquisition along with attractive and flexible
vendor financing materially increases KWE’s stabilized cash flow,” said
Mary Ricks, president and CEO of Kennedy Wilson Europe. “KWE continues
to make good progress in deploying the capital raised in October 2014
from the follow-on offering.”
The acquisition is being funded from KWE’s cash resources and a new £352
million ($530 million) secured loan facility with Aviva. The portfolio
consists of approximately 3.5 million square feet of space, is currently
98% occupied and is expected to generate approximately £36 million ($54
million) of net rental income. The portfolio is predominantly located in
England, with 54%, by value, weighted towards London and the South East
and 5% weighted towards Scotland and Wales. The primary sector use, by
value, is retail, food and convenience, comprising 62% of the portfolio,
with leisure, industrial, office and hotels making up the balance.
Real estate related acquisitions by KWE since its inception in February
2014, which total more than £1.9 billion ($2.9 billion), currently
generate approximately £130 million ($196 million) of net rental income
and consist of more than 10 million square feet. Kennedy Wilson
currently owns approximately 14.9% of the total issued share capital of
KWE and serves as its external manager.
About Kennedy Wilson
Founded in 1977, Kennedy Wilson is a vertically integrated global real
estate investment and services company headquartered in Beverly Hills,
CA, with 25 offices in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Spain, Jersey and
Japan. The company, on its own or with partners, invests
opportunistically in a variety of real estate related investments,
including commercial, multifamily, loan purchases and originations,
residential, and hotels. Kennedy Wilson offers a comprehensive array of
real estate services including investment management, property services,
auction, conventional sales, brokerage and research. For further
information on Kennedy Wilson, please visit www.kennedywilson.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2015