City briefs: Tritax Big Box REIT and OptiBiotix

A large commercial property in North Yorkshire is among three assets to have been sold by Tritax Big Box REIT, for a total of £77m.

The 221,763 sq ft Wolseley premises, at Baker Business Park, in Ripon, had been acquired by Tritax in August 2014.

It has been sold along with assets in Langley Mill, Derbyshire and Warth Park, Northamptonshire.

A Tritax spokesman said: “Through our ongoing evaluation of the portfolio, we consider these assets to have reached their full value under our ownership following the completion of asset management initiatives which delivered rental growth and a lease extension.

“Based upon factors such as their size and relative lease lengths, and detailed quantitative analysis on expected future returns, these assets are less well aligned with our long-term strategic and portfolio objectives.”

Colin Godfrey, CEO, fund management, said: “Ongoing portfolio evaluation is an intrinsic part of our strategy to deliver value to our shareholders.

“We continue to see strong demand for UK logistics real estate supporting attractive prices on assets which no longer align with our strategy and where we believe they have reached their full value potential in our ownership.

“So far this year we have disposed of £134m of assets, and we will be redeploying the proceeds into attractive opportunities, including those within our portfolio where we see the potential to secure higher returns for shareholders.”

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York-based life sciences business OptiBiotix Health has signed a non exclusive license agreement for SlimBiome® Medical with HiLife Vitamins & Herbs Co Inc.

It grants HiLife non-exclusive rights to commercialise OptiBiotix’s SlimBiome® Medical proprietary weight management product in the USA.

HiLife is an established online health supplement retailer based in the USA. It lists over 5,000 products online, having built a loyal customer base across North America.

 The signing of this agreement was subject to the placing of a trial order and a six month period after which both parties will discuss the terms of the agreement to explore online exclusivity for the USA.

These discussions will follow a review of sales performance over the period. Any subsequent exclusivity agreed will be linked to minimum order quantities.

Thomas O’Hara, business development manager at Optibiotix, said: “We are pleased to have signed an agreement with HiLife to commercialise our award-winning weight management technology in such a large and key market for weight management products.

“HiLife contacted us expressing an interest in our product portfolio underlining the recognition and reputation OptiBiotix is establishing in major markets.”

Susan Rubin, owner at HiLife, said: “We are honoured and proud to have signed  an agreement with Optibiotix.

“With a strong local and e-commerce presence, HiLife Vitamins saw a tremendous opportunity to bring patented award-winning weight management products into the US.

“As we are expanding our product selections for our customers, we wanted to bring something unique to the US market.”