REI pays £1.8m for Birmingham city centre property

REAL Estate Investors plc (REI) has paid £1.8m cash for an office building purchase in Birmingham city centre.

The AIM-listed property investment company has acquired 37a Waterloo Street and 7 Bennetts Hill, Birmingham.

The property is a city centre listed building with ground floor restaurant and upper part offices, producing £188,000 per annum. Tenants include W H Ireland, Triton Global and MVA Consultancy.

The building directly adjoins an existing REI property on Bennetts Hill.

Paul Bassi, chief executive of the Birmingham firm, said: “This property is a strategic addition to our portfolio that offers the opportunity to add value and rental income through lease renewals and rent reviews. 

“Alongside our property portfolio throughout the Midlands region, we have now acquired a total of 180,000 sq ft across 11 buildings, occupied by 45 tenants, in the city centre and surrounding areas during the economic downturn of the last  five years. 

“We are now an established Birmingham city centre landlord with a diverse portfolio that has significant asset management opportunities.”

Meanwhile, Bassi has welcomed an industry survey has found that the West Midlands is second only to the South East in attracting serious investment interest.

According to property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton’s latest research, regional property investment is at its highest for two and a half years and 14% up on the second quarter of 2013.

The South East saw the highest level of investment outside of London at £1.6bn, with the West Midlands in second place with £799m.

“There is generally more appetite for regional assets and we share the view that London is overheated,” Bassi said.

 

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