Invista pays £5.5m for Lloyds building in Liverpool

INVISTA Foundation Property Trust has exchanged contracts to buy a building at 88-94 Church St in Liverpool for £5.5m, reflecting an initial yield of 11.3%.

The firm has bought the 24,864 sq building, which has ground floor retail space and seven floors of offices all occupied by Lloyds TSB bank. The bank currently pays £664,000 on its lease, which is due to expire in December 2014.

Three floors on the building are used by the bank and the third to seventh floors are sub-let to a legal firm.

Invista said that as well as the high initial yield, the property offers scope for active management and although the current rent exceeds the market average in the area, its prominent position and planning consent for bank branches “should assist future letting opportunities”.

Duncan Owen, chief executive of Invista Real Estate Investment Management Limited, said: “The acquisition of Liverpool at 11.3% follows Keith House in Edinburgh which was purchased at a price reflecting a yield of 14%, illustrating that we continue to identify new investment opportunities with good property fundamentals at attractive pricing and income yields. 

“These transactions are consistent with our strategy to own a portfolio which display strong fundamentals, whilst disposing of assets where we have successfully implemented asset management plans.

“The Liverpool asset offers the potential for capital value improvement through asset management in due course.”