Sigma is pleased to announce that its property investment subsidiary, Strategic Investment Management Ltd (“SI”), through its seventh limited partnership, is exchanging contracts today on the acquisition of the City Wharf development in Aberdeen. Legal completion of the acquisition is currently expected by the end of 2007. The total consideration for this development property is circa £40m. This is being funded by bank debt together with £13.6m of third party investor equity. The transaction is expected to generate gross fees for Sigma of approximately £2.6m.
Situated in the heart of Aberdeen city centre, the City Wharf development will comprise a mix of prime office and leisure assets. Existing tenants include Aberdeen City Council and FirstGroup plc. The development features a circa 25,000 sq ft casino, pre-let to Grosvenor Casinos, and a 107-bedroom Ibis hotel, pre-let to Accor Group. Rental guarantees of either two or three years are in place for the remaining units. Practical completion of the development is anticipated to be in 2009.
To date, SI has established six other limited partnerships, with the amount of funds previously raised totalling £264m. The investor equity element raised for the first six partnerships totalled nearly £60m. SI has successfully disposed of its Limited Partnership Numbers 1, 2 and 3, delivering investor returns on equity contributions of 21%, 40% and 30% respectively.
Graham Barnet, CEO of Sigma, commented,
“We are delighted to announce the acquisition of another high calibre development for our seventh property partnership. Our previous property partnerships have been highly successful, with the disposal of the first three delivering excellent returns for our investors.
This seventh limited partnership represents another excellent fit for our stringent investment criteria, offering a quality commercial development with guaranteed rental income and blue-chip tenants.”
Enquiries
Company website: www.sigmacapital.co.uk
Sigma Capital Group plc
Graham Barnet, Chief Executive
T: 0131 220 9444
Biddicks
Katie Tzouliadis/ Sophie Lane
T: 020 7448 1000
Arbuthnot Securities
Tom Griffiths/ Neil Kirton
T: 020 7012 2000