40 DEALS IN THE NORTHERN HOME COUNTIES FOR ST. MODWEN

Proving that there is still tenant and investor demand in the commercial property market, over the last few months alone, St. Modwen, the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, has completed in excess of 40 deals in the Northern Home Counties region providing the business with around £1 million of new annual income.

The new income stems from a range of sources including 100,000 sq ft of new lettings, a high number of lease renewals across the region’s property portfolio and over £5 million in asset sales.

Rupert Wood, regional manager, St. Modwen Northern Home Counties comments:

“Setting the company apart from many of its competitors, St. Modwen owns a very diverse property portfolio from which it receives a rental income from over 1,600 tenants annually across the UK. Established at the start of 2008, the Northern Home Counties office has benefitted from this broad asset base which has seen us secure considerable new income in the past few months alone.

The letting highlights include a 20,000 sq ft retail unit to Argos at St. Modwen’s Edmonton Green Shopping Centre development, North London and a 27,000 sq ft office premises to Bedford College, on a 10 year lease in Bedford. St. Modwen has also disposed of land at Thurleigh Airfield, Bedfordshire for £5.3 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 8.5%.

He continues:

“A third of the new lettings secured in the region have been taken on 10 to 15 year leases which, coupled with the high number of lease renewals, shows that many companies remain confident in the long term future of the operations and continue to satisfied with the location and quality of their premises. This is especially true at Edmonton Green in North London where we completed the final phase of this £100 million regeneration project when Asda opened in November 2008, after a five year development period. The scheme continues to trade well, illustrating the good demand for space from Discount retailers who continue to remain buoyant in the current economic climate.

“The sale of the land at Thurleigh is a prime example of how St. Modwen’s large asset base underpins the business. The company traditionally retains individual assets until it can no longer add value, at present this means that funds raised from any disposals enable us to take advantage of any potential opportunities arising from the current market conditions which will subsequently help to grow the business.”

Finally, illustrating the ongoing growth of the office and its widening reach across the region, earlier in the year, planning permission was secured to build a 77,000 sq ft Business Park on a 4.5 acre site in Letchworth Garden City.

Notes to Editors:

St. Modwen Properties plc

St. Modwen is the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, operating across the full spectrum of the property industry through a network of seven regional offices and a Birmingham based head office. The company is wholly focused upon regeneration with expertise in town centre regeneration, partnering industry, brownfield land renewal, Innovation Centres and education projects.