• To be sold by clicktopurchase® Best Offers by 1:00pm Friday 4th June 2021, unless sold prior.

• Let to A-Plan Holdings

• Highly secure income - Shareholders’ Funds £86.5 million

• Newly refurbished street scene on Cornfield Road and Terminus Road

• Attractive frontage with self-contained first and second floors currently unused by the tenant

• Eastbourne is the 2nd fastest growing seaside Town in the UK

• Freehold

• VAT-free investment

• £595,000, subject to contract

• 8.0% Net Initial Yield

• Implied asking price in relation to the upper floors of only £76 per sq ft / £818 per sq m

The property is located within Eastbourne Town Centre at the north end of the recently refurbished (2019) Cornfield Road and just 50 metres (55 yards) south of the pedestrianised Terminus Road, considered to be the prime pitch of Eastbourne. The property is directly opposite the Eastbourne Information Centre with other nearby occupiers including NatWest, Barclays, Metro Bank and J.D. Wetherspoon.

Both East Sussex County Council and Eastbourne Borough Council have invested more than £8m into The Eastbourne Town Centre Improvement scheme, which aims to transform and modernise the area which includes Terminus Road and Cornfield Road in order to attract more visitors to the town, improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists and reduce congestion. Changes have included creating wider walkways for pedestrians, cutting routes down to one bus lane, relaying the roads and pavements with granite blocks, installing new bus shelters in Gildredge Road and Cornfield Road, and a new taxi rank in Cornfield Road.

The Beacon Shopping Centre, owned by Legal & General, is some 80 metres (90 yards) to the north of the property and provides over 350,000 sq ft of retail and leisure floorspace having been extended by 175,000 sq ft in 2018. The shopping centre benefits from an annual footfall of approximately 15 million people. (Source: www.thebeaconeastbourne.com).

Eastbourne Borough Market occurs every Sunday and Wednesday and is located some 100 metres to the north of the property on Terminus Road.

The property comprises a ground floor retail unit with office and ancillary accommodation on first and second floors. Internally, the retail floor area has been fitted out by the tenant to their usual corporate style and is predominantly open plan with ancillary areas. The property benefits from a large glass frontage onto Cornfield Road.

The tenant does not currently occupy the self-contained first and second floors. Access to the upper parts is through a stairwell accessed externally via the access road to the south of the property. This would enable the upper floors to be separately demised from the ground floor premises.

Freehold.

The entire property is let to A-Plan Holdings on a full repairing and insuring lease for a term of 10 years from 22nd December 2015, expiring on 21st December 2025.

The current passing rent is £50,000 per annum which, based on our analysis, equates to a Zone A rate of £30.20 per sq ft. This applies £10.00 per sq ft / £107 per sq metre to the first and £7.50 per sq ft / £80.70 per sq metre to the second-floor accommodation which is currently fitted out as offices. We understand the tenant hasn’t utilised this self-contained portion of the property since 2018 .

Given the current use of the property as offices, we have also analysed the rent of £50,000 per annum on this basis. The rent equates to £15.40 per sq ft / £165.80 per sq metre on an overall net internal area basis.

The tenant has an excellent payment record with no rent payment delays during lockdown. All rents are paid and up to date, with no arrears. A copy of the rental payment history is available within the legal pack.

By assessing the retail accommodation at a sensible yield of 7.00% with an apportioned rent on these ground floor premises of £33,165, the implied retail value is in the order of £450,000. Therefore, a purchase at the asking price reflects only £145,000 in relation to the upper floors, equating to £76 per sq ft / £818 per sq metre. Residential values for upper parts in Eastbourne are in the order of £175 per sq ft / £1,880 per sq ft, thereby providing significant potential to enhance value where this element of converted to residential accommodation. Alternatively, there is also value enhancement available by creating attractive self-contained office accommodation on the upper floors.

A-Plan Holdings (Co. No. 00750484), incorporated in February 1963, has reported the following figures:

As advised in the company accounts, the company’s network roll-out continued with 4 new openings in the year (2020) and a further three since year end. The total number of centres is now 97, with a good pipeline of future opportunities. They are continuing to invest in new centres as there remains a growing demand for good quality service and advice delivered locally.

The main measure of the Company’s profit performance is operating profit before depreciation, amortisation and loss on hive up of subsidiary (“EBITDA”), which rose 1.5% to £34.7m (2019: £34.2m). This was net of £1.5m (2019: £0.9m) investment in the deployment of Applied Epic (a new policy IT administration system). Turnover increased to £108.3m (2019: £101.7m), reflecting a strong trading performance against a backdrop of ongoing competition from online channels where very aggressive new business pricing remains a strong feature. (Source: A-Plan Holdings Financial Statements for the year ended 29 February 2020).

We are instructed to seek a figure of £595,000 (Five Hundred and Ninety-Five Thousand Pounds), subject to contract, reflecting a net initial yield of 8.00%, assuming standard purchaser’s costs of 5.04%.

When considering the value of the existing office upper parts in the region of £145,000 which reflects £76 per sq ft / £818 per sq m and its current under-utilisation, the investment presents an immediate opportunity. The upper floors provide self-contained separate access from the ground floor which is a major benefit to any future conversion or refurbishment works.

Please note that a purchaser will be re-charged the costs of the measured survey £375 + VAT) and searches (£836.68)which are provided in the data room .

Please note that a purchaser will be charged a Transaction Fee of £5,000 plus VAT.

1. The property occupies a prominent position in the town centre, locally known as “Bankers Corner”;

2. Distinctive property in the main retailing pitch of Eastbourne;

3. Under-utilised self-contained first and second floors providing an opportunity for residential conversion or office refurbishment to enhance value;

4. Securely let to A-Plan Holdings (Shareholders’ Funds £86.5 million);

5. Freehold;

6. A purchase at the asking price reflects an attractive net initial yield and low capital value in relation to the upper parts;

7. Appealing lot size to an investor.

8. VAT-free investment

9. The property is sold with the benefit of a rent guarantee from the vendor to ensure