Commercial property business completes four investment deals

Yorkshire-based commercial property investment company Rougemont has completed four new strategic acquisitions, worth £11m.

Founded in 2009, Rougemont is a fast growing privately funded property investment manager and syndicated property investment business. It now has over £120m worth of commercial property under management.

It owns and manages a significant number of prestigious properties across the UK on behalf of high net worth clients, including the Marshall headquarters near Leeds; Ward Hadaway Solicitors’ headquarters on Newcastle’s Quayside; and a Diageo bonded whisky maturation warehouse near Edinburgh.

The company’s most recent purchases include established office locations in York, Sheffield, Glasgow and Bristol.

James Craven, managing director, said: “Our investment strategy has, in the past, been focused towards acquiring long-term income with yields in excess of 7.50% per annum.

“However, the recent squeeze on pricing, due to the weight of available national and international investor money in the market, has made long-term income too expensive.

“In order to continue being able to deliver attractive returns for our investors, we have had to reassess our strategy.

“We are therefore now focusing on strategically-located opportunities which are, primarily, in large regional cities; are easily accessed by good transport infrastructure; and which are underpinned by a low passing rent in areas of strong occupier demand.

“Our recent acquisitions reflect this new approach, and combined with our pro-active asset management initiatives, we are delivering an increased rent roll and a capital appreciation across the portfolio.

“Rougemont’s investments are structured to deliver attractive returns and income security for our clients.

“For example, our recent purchase of the Ruskin Building, Sheffield, is yielding 8.60% per annum income return without any bank funding.

“It’s been an exhilarating 11 years for us. We have created a significant and diverse portfolio, incorporating property assets in a variety of locations, property classes and tenant sectors, which continues to increase in capital value and return strong annual income distributions for our clients.”