Record breaking £32m of investment helps Landmark reach £100m milestone
Having raised more than £70m of new debt funding this year to drive expansion and growth, Bolton-based Landmark Investments has acquired £31.96m of new ground rent assets, in a record-breaking quarter of contracts and completions.
The transactions cover an eclectic mix of sites across England encompassing 2,385 properties across 21 developments, and represent Landmark’s busiest quarter for investment for more than five years.
Notable acquisitions include Granta Court, London, and One Regent, a 26-storey tower in Manchester, as well as sites in Westminster, Birmingham, Durham and Newquay.
Since lockdown Landmark has added 5,921 residential and commercial units to its investment portfolio as developers look to dispose of non-core assets.
Over the past five years the fast-growing firm has seen the size of its portfolio increase eight-fold in value.
The new additions bring the value of Landmark’s acquisitions to more than £100m.
The company has also stated its agreed pipeline with lawyers is almost £70m of opportunities which will ensure growth continues in the months and years ahead.
The news comes two months after Landmark revealed that it had secured £71m of debt to fuel expansion – £45m of which has been secured on ultra-long 50-year terms.
The national ground rent investor will use the debt to increase its portfolio of residential and commercial ground rents, taking on larger and more complex opportunities.
Acquisitions director, Ben Ogunby, said: “The advent of COVID has created volatility across most markets.
“We have remained resilient to these forces and continue to be sought out as a reliable purchaser of ground rents.
“We are expert in all types of ground rents, to include commercial, regularly taking on larger and more complex opportunities that others cannot, or just won’t. Our average number of days to contract is currently 79 days, which is hard to replicate.”
The economic uncertainty created by the coronavirus crisis and the national lockdown has done nothing to dampen the appetite for growth of Landmark Investments’ chief executive, Mark Hawthorn.
He said: “Over our 20 year-plus history we have proven ourselves as trustworthy purchasers and investing during times of perceived uncertainty is not new to us. We were investing in ground rents before most others, continued when the market paused in 2008 for the global credit crunch, and that experience stood us in good stead for 2020.
“Despite increasing our portfolio eight-fold, our appetite for growth remains voracious.
“We have substantial funds for investment, continue to agree new acquisitions on an almost a daily basis, and now have a pipeline of almost £70m of opportunities which will ensure growth continues in the months ahead.”
