Braemar buys Beetham freehold

REAL estate fund and management Braemar has bought the freehold of Manchester’s Beetham Tower, through its Channel Islands listed Ground Rents Fund.

The Hale-based group said the purchase represented an initial yield of £6.25%.

The fund is advised by the group’s asset management arm Braemar Estates, which manages around 3,100 properties and has more than £500m total assets under management.

Braemar Estates was appointed as property and lettings manager for the Beetham Towers, in both Manchester and Birmingham last month.

Marc Duschenes, chief executive of Braemar, said: “It is a perfect example of the type of large scale, well located developments which our Fund aims to acquire.

“I expect this to be the first of several significant freehold purchases, which the Fund hopes to complete during the course of the next year, driving further performance of NAV as the Fund continues to provide investors with exposure to this asset class.“

Braemar’s Ground Rents OEIC opened for investment in the summer of 2009. The Fund already owns Freeholds to 247 other apartments in Bristol, Birmingham and Yorkshire on a blended yield of 7%.