Workspace makes first sale from McKay portfolio

Workspace has made its first sale from the McKay portfolio it acquired in May. Workspace Group has sold the Strawberry Hill Medical Centre in Newbury for £7.25m, to Primary Health Properties. The sale is at a premium of £1.15m to the March 2022 valuation. The property is fully let to two GP practices, providing 100% government-backed income, with an unexpired term of 19 years. Workspace paid £272m for McKay Securities in May, primarily to take control of its London office assets. However, the deal also brought with it a scattering of non-core properties and a light industrial portfolio focused on the South East. Workspace chief executive Graham Clemett, said: “We are pleased to have completed on this first sale from the identified non-core assets in the McKay portfolio. We continue to progress with our disposal programme, targeting completion by December 2022, with the proceeds expected to significantly reduce our LTV and increase the proportion of fixed-rate debt.” Workspace has previously spoken about selling off McKay’s sizeable light industrial assets as a single portfolio, following “significant interest”. After buying the medical centre, PHP’s portfolio now comprises 512 assets, of which 20 are in Ireland, with a contracted rent roll of £143m. Chief executive Harry Hyman said: “We have a strong pipeline of opportunities in the UK and Ireland and are well positioned to continue to grow our portfolio selectively and to support the healthcare systems in these markets through the provision of modern, primary care infrastructure.” To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews