Acquisition of Poole Retail Park

NewRiver is pleased to announce that its joint venture (the "JV") with BRAVO Strategies III LLC ("BRAVO") has acquired Poole Retail Park in Dorset, from LS Poole Retail Limited for total consideration of £44.7 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 8.0%.

NewRiver will hold a 10% interest in the asset (NRR share: £4.5 million) and NewRiver will benefit from 10% of the net rental income (NRR share: £0.4 million per annum). NewRiver will also be appointed as asset manager, in return for a management fee calculated with reference to the gross rental income of the asset, and will also receive a promote based on financial performance.

Poole Retail Park is located between the town centres of Poole and Bournemouth in Dorset, adjacent to the A35 and in close proximity to a large residential area. The fully-let retail park comprises 14 units offering 208,000 sq ft of retail space, with a tenant line-up including John Lewis at Home, DW Sports, Next Home, Homesense, Boots and Home Bargains, and a free car park providing 805 spaces. The asset currently has an attractive weighted average unexpired lease term of 6.7 years, an affordable average rent of £18.24 per sq ft and an average Rent to Sales ratio of 7.8%1. The acquisition provides a number of opportunities to extract further value and enhance income streams through active asset management and risk-controlled development, including the expansion and adaption of units to better meet the needs of current and prospective occupiers.

Including this acquisition, the JV established in May 2019 will have acquired £105.1 million of assets (NRR share: £34.7 million), reflecting a net initial yield of 9.0%.

Allan Lockhart, Chief Executive commented: "We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Poole Retail Park, demonstrating further progress with our strategies to deliver Underlying FFO growth, by recycling capital from lower-yielding assets into higher-yielding acquisitions, primarily through joint ventures. Acquiring through this JV ensures we can maximise our returns on capital deployed through the receipt of rental income, asset management fees and promotes, while maintaining a conservative balance sheet. Poole Retail Park is a high performing asset that benefits from a very convenient location and a strong and diverse tenant line-up, and presents a number of exciting opportunities to extract further value and higher rental income through active asset management and risk-controlled development."

1 Source: Rental affordability analysis undertaken by Harper Dennis Hobbs' Retail Consultancy team for NewRiver

For further information

Tom Loughran, Head of Investor Relations (NewRiver)
+44 (0)20 3328 5800

Lucy Mitchell, Director of Communications & PR (NewRiver)                       
+44 (0)20 3328 5800

Gordon Simpson/James Thompson (Finsbury)                                                 
+44 (0)20 7251 3801

About NewRiver

NewRiver REIT plc (‘NewRiver’) is a leading Real Estate Investment Trust specialising in buying, managing and developing essential retail and leisure assets throughout the UK.

Our £1.1 billion portfolio covers 9 million sq ft and comprises 33 community shopping centres, 24 conveniently located retail parks and around 700 community pubs. We hand-picked our assets to deliberately focus on occupiers providing essential goods and services, and avoid structurally challenged sub-sectors such as department stores, mid-market fashion and casual dining. This focus, combined with our affordable rents and desirable locations, delivers sustainable and growing returns for our shareholders, while our active approach to asset management and inbuilt 2.6 million sq ft development pipeline provide further opportunities to extract value from our portfolio.

NewRiver has a Premium Listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (ticker: NRR). Visit www.nrr.co.uk for further information.

LEI Number: 2138004GX1VAUMH66L31