MEN Arena sale completes
CAPITAL & Regional has completed the £62.2m sale of the Manchester Evening News Arena to Development Securities, the listed property developer.
It has been sold by Capital & Regional and its joint venture partner multinational GE. They announced an exchange of contracts on the deal two months ago.
The two companies have spent the past year looking for a buyer for the 20,000-seat stadium which has hosted gigs by U2, Madonna and The Rolling Stones.
The transaction price represents a net initial yield of 7.15% which the company said was a small premium to the December 31, 2009, valuation.
GE Real Estate UK and Capital & Regional paid around £60m for the venue in 2006, buying it from the US giant Anschutz Entertainment Group, which acquired it for £50m in 2004.
The deal represents the first major investment for Development Securities, also based in London, since it raised £100m from new equity investors last year.
