Macfarlanes advises Supermarket Income REIT on acquisition of £102m interest in securitised supermarket portfolio
27 May 2020Macfarlanes has advised Supermarket Income REIT plc, the UK supermarket real estate investor, on the formation of a 50:50 joint venture with British Airways Pension Trustees Limited (acting on behalf of the British Airways Pension Fund) to acquire from British Land Plc a 25% stake in one of the UK's largest portfolios of supermarket properties for £102m. The portfolio consists of 26 Sainsbury’s supermarkets and is funded by bonds, which mature in 2023.
The transaction was funded out of the proceeds of the REIT’s oversubscribed £140m placing on the Specialist Fund Segment of London Stock Exchange’s Main Market, which closed at the end of April, on which Macfarlanes also advised.
The transaction was led by corporate and M&A partner Robert Boyle, with assistance from senior counsel Mark Slade. Real estate advice was provided by real estate partner Nick Barnes and senior solicitor Rebecca Ashton, while securitisation expertise came from finance partner Richard Fletcher and solicitor Christine Dowdall.
Commenting on the transaction, Robert Boyle said: “The deployment of a substantial portion of its last equity fundraise in under a month into this exciting transaction is testament to Supermarket Income REIT’s ability to source and rapidly execute acquisitions of high-quality assets, and we are delighted to have assisted the REIT on this transaction.”
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