International property firm invests £8.9m in South West

One of the world’s leading real estate managers has completed two property deals in the South West.
American base AEW announced a change in investment strategy for its top performing UK core property fund and completed four deals.
AEW said it will look to capitalise on market inefficiencies and acquire attractively priced and high-quality multi-sector commercial real estate at the margins of prime locations across the UK.
As a result it has invested £8.9m in the properties in Bristol and Bath.
Following the change in strategy, four assets have been acquired:
Harbour Island, a well located, office and retail asset in Canary Wharf for £18.2m, reflecting a NIY of 8.2 per cent
Hythe Marine Park in Southampton, a 12.6 acre freehold marine services industrial estate, with an additional 33 acres of foreshore held on a long leasehold basis. The purchase price was £14m reflecting a NIY of 9.2 per cent.
Barton Court, in Bath, a mixed use island site corner block in the heart of historic Bath and provides 54,074 sq ft over basement, ground and three upper floors with a mix of retail and offices. The purchase price was £8.25m. The retail anchor is Anthropolgie and the office is anchored by Stone King LLP.
Following the acquisition of Armourers House in Bristol in February 2022, the Fund has acquired the adjoining interest to the property, 3 Queens Square, for £705,000 which will assist in delivering high quality refurbished office accommodation in line with the business plan.
Richard Tanner, senior portfolio manager said: “We are very excited about the evolution of what is now called the AEW UK Core Plus Property Fund, which will allow us to take advantage of the price dislocations we are seeing in the commercial property market.
“The high yielding acquisitions recently completed are evidence of our commitment to seeking out attractively priced properties where we can leverage our proven active management capabilities and deliver value for both investors and tenants.”
Lewis and Partners acted for AEW at Canary Wharf whilst Cyril Leonard represented the vendor. In Hythe HSP acted for AEW whilst Lambert Smith Hampton represented the vendor and in Bath AEW were represented by Savills whilst Jackson Criss acted for the vendor.
AEW is one of the world’s largest real estate asset managers, with £74.6bn of assets under management.
It has over 850 employees, with its main offices located in Boston, London, Paris and Hong Kong.