Doherty Baines Advised Legal & General Property

L&G makes debut School Investment, as it backs wider Tottenham Regeneration Scheme.

Legal & General Property (“LGP”) announces, on behalf of its LPI (Limited Price Inflation) Income Property Fund (the “Fund” / “LPI Fund”), that it has completed the acquisition of Brook House Primary School, 881 High Road Tottenham, a newly built school in Tottenham, North London, for a total consideration of £11 million.  The property has been purchased from Redbury and the price reflects a net initial yield of 4.02%.

The new primary school is let to Lion Education Trust, with a full guarantee from The Secretary of State for Education, on a FRI-linked 25 year lease.  The property comprises a 26,000 sq ft ground and first floor primary school for 420 pupils and forms part of the mixed-use redevelopment of the former Cannon Rubber Factory located off High Road, Tottenham. A new Academy school, Brook House Primary School is currently being fitted out with the school scheduled to open in September 2015 in time for the new academic year.

Brook House Primary School forms part of a major residential-led development being undertaken by the Newlon Housing Trust, totalling 222 flats, mainly affordable homes, situated across four blocks. Brook House Primary School comprises a ground and first floor podium level to one of the blocks, Beachcroft Court, with the entrance and service core to the flats situated on Cannon Road. The residential accommodation is arranged on three floors above the school.

Tottenham has been identified as an Opportunity Area for significant growth by the Greater London Authority.  A 70-acre phased development of circa 1.5 million sq ft of leisure, community and housing, anchored by a new 56,000 seat football stadium for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.  When completed, it is expected to attract circa 1.5 million visitors annually and act as a catalyst for further  regeneration of Tottenham. As part of the regeneration, White Hart Lane Station will undergo a comprehensive refurbishment, creating a modern overland station capable of servicing increasing passenger numbers.

15TH MAY 2015 LIMITED PRICE INFLATION (LPI Derek Gilby, Senior Fund Manager at Legal & General Property, comments:  “Seen as a long term hold for the Fund, this acquisition represents an attractive opportunity to access a long term secure income stream, backed by the Government, while investing in one of London’s most exciting and comprehensive regeneration projects.  There is undeniable need for regeneration in the Tottenham area, which will provide jobs and social cohesion.”  

Doherty Baines advised Legal & General Property on the deal, while Lambert Smith Hampton acted for Redbury.

Launched in 2010, the LPI Fund offers Defined Benefit pension schemes an innovative way to invest in property with secure, primarily government backed, inflation-linked sources of income. With £675 million of assets under management, the portfolio generates income yields well in excess of those from comparable asset classes such as index-linked gilts or social housing.  The Fund continues to take advantage of the sale and leaseback assets currently being offered to LGP through its unique and extensive access to on and off-market opportunities, leveraging its in-house property expertise and close relationships with banks and public sector bodies.