Following the announcement on 1 October that Landsec had exchanged contracts to acquire a 100% stake in Metrocentre, Gateshead, the Company confirms it has completed the acquisition for a net cash consideration of £516m.    

Based on in-place net rental income of £41m, the net cash consideration of £516m implies an in-place net rental income yield of 7.9% − Landsec expects this yield to improve by c. 40bps in the short term due to the efficiencies of integrating this asset into its own operating platform. At this price, Metrocentre offers an attractive combination of a high day-one income return, strong future rental growth prospects and an expected low double-digit unlevered IRR.  
 
This acquisition has further expanded Landsec’s market-leading platform. It now owns three of the top ten and eight of the top 30 shopping centres in the UK, with major retail destinations now representing c. 46% of the Company’s annualised rental income.