Secure Income REIT Acquire Two Portfolios for £436m

Date: March 2018

Location: A portfolio of leisure assets across the UK, including the Manchester Arena, and a portfolio of 59 hotels across the UK let to Travelodge.

Name: Travelodge hotels, The Brewery and Manchester Arena

Buyer: Property investor Secure Income REIT, headed up by property guru Nick Leslau, has agreed to acquire two portfolios for £436m, which includes a number of venues from Slug & Lettuce owner Stonegate Pub Company and almost 80 hotels from Travelodge.

The larger of the two portfolios, which is set to be purchased for £224m, comprises a portfolio of 17 hotels let to Travelodge, 18 Stonegate Pub Company freehold venues and The Brewery at Chiswell Street in London, a catered events space.

However, the most significant asset is Manchester Arena, which has a 21,000-seat capacity, 160,000 sq ft of office space and 1,000 car parking spaces.

The venue, located near Manchester Victoria station, is let for 27 years to SMG.

The second portfolio, which Secure Income has agreed to buy for £212m, includes 59 hotels across the UK let to Travelodge.

To partly fund the acquisitions, Secure Income has proposed a placing of 86.4 million new ordinary shares with a target of raising gross proceeds of £315.5m.

It is expected that the admission will become effective and that unconditional dealings in the placing shares will commence on 29 March 2018.

Non-executive chairman Martin Moore said: “The board and management team are excited by the opportunities presented by the new transactions and intend to invest a further £5.25m cash in new shares to support this £315.5m placing.”

News of the deal comes as Secure Income reports its final results for the year to 31 December 2017, with its portfolio value up by 7.8 per cent to £1.77bn.

THPT: We are not sure what this means for the operators for the hotels and other assets!

Nick Leslau is the chairman of Prestbury, the investment adviser and 30 per cent shareholder in the Secure Income Reit, a £500m property company that listed last year and owns assets including Thorpe Park, Alton Towers and Warwick Castle. He is also a director and co-owner of Saracens rugby club. In 2010, he gave £425,000 to charity after appearing on Channel 4’s The Secret Millionaire and working undercover as a social worker in Glasgow.

Nick was an equal partner with Ian Schrager on the investment to open The Sanderson & St Martins Lane in London, under the Morgans brand in 2000.

First Seen: ADFVN