The Light owners look to sell £50m stake
KAMES Capital is offering to sell a 50% stake in mixed-use leisure scheme The Light in Leeds for more than £50m.
Knight Frank, which has been appointed to market the centre, said the asset had provided significant income growth and security under Kames’ ownership.
However, it said its success had contributed to its value now forming a large proportion of the fund’s total worth.
Therefore, the vendor is looking for offers of £52.02m for a 50% freehold share in the 200,000 sq ft scheme, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.5%. The gross total income equates to £7.3m a year.
The scheme was developed in 2000 behind a listed façade and includes leisure, hotel and retail units.
Anchor tenants include a 14 screen Vue cinema, a 147 bed Radisson SAS hotel, a Virgin Active gym with a 20m swimming pool and spa facilities, and a 420 space multi-storey car park operated by Q Park NV.
There are cpresently 41 tenancies within the scheme, which includes restaurant occupiers such as Prezzo, Zizzi and Nando’s as well as selective retail operators such as Superdry and O’Neill.
The Light, located in the city centre, has footfall of 6.1m people a year.
Andrew McGregor, head of the out of town retail and leisure team at Knight Frank, said: “The Light is one of the top five schemes in the UK. Leeds is thriving and, whilst I believe the asset will appeal to UK institutions, it will also have a broader international appeal.
“There have been some high profile leisure sales in 2012, including The Gate, Cornerhouse and Printworks Manchester.
“There is a feeling that values have improved due to strong occupational demand, the prospect of open market rental growth, as well as index-linked rental uplifts. Compared to certain retail sectors, especially poorer bulky schemes, the better leisure parks/schemes are now similarly priced and almost certainly offer better income security.”
