VAT-Free Retail & Office Investment

19-20 Cornhill | Lincoln | LN5 7HB

£830,000

subject to contract

SOLD
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Summary

  • Located in an attractive Cathedral City

  • Situated within a prime retailing pitch

  • New letting on the upper parts from April 2022

  • Retail element let at a rebased rent

  • Total passing rent of £70,000 per annum

  • Freehold

  • £830,000, subject to contract

  • Net Yield 8.00%

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Location

Lincoln is an attractive Cathedral city in the East Midlands and serves as the principal administrative and shopping centre in the county of Lincolnshire and is considered the largest urban area within the county.

The city is located approximately 38 miles (61 km) north each of Nottingham, 46 miles (74 km) east of Sheffield and 130 miles (209 km) north of London.

Lincoln benefits from excellent road communications with the A57 providing access to Sheffield. The A46 provides access to the A1(M), Nottingham and Leicester to the south west. The A15 provides access to Peterborough to the south and Scunthorpe to the north.

Lincoln Mainline Station provides regular services to Nottingham within 25 minutes, Sheffield within 1 hour and 10 minutes and to London Kings Cross within 1 hour and 54 minutes. Doncaster Sheffield Airport is 40 miles (64 km) to the south east and London Luton is 117 miles (188 km) to the south.

The city benefits from a thriving tourism economy drawn in by historic attractions including the city’s Cathedral and castle with approximately 4 million visitors each year. Tourism expenditure is estimated to be £215m per annum, supporting over 2,500 full time jobs.

The University of Lincoln has over 15,000 students and 1,600 staff which provides an estimated £300m to the local economy.

[Sources: www.visitlincoln.com & www.lincoln.gov.uk]

Situation

The property is situated within the Cornhill Quarter of the city centre and comprises part of the main retail offering in the city within the main pedestrianised area.

The property is situated approximately 320 metres from Lincoln Railway Station.

Occupiers nearby include, Halifax Bank (adjacent), Barclays Bank (adjacent), WH Smith, Santander, Boots, Greggs, Costa, Specsavers, Holland & Barrett, Starbucks, Pandora and McDonald’s.

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Description

The property comprises a three-storey terraced property with the ground floor providing retail accommodation occupied by Card Factory and the upper parts providing offices occupied by Thoughtmix Online Serviced Limited. The upper parts are self-contained and benefit from independent access to the front of the property.

The retail accommodation has been fitted out by Card Factory in their usual corporate style whilst the upper parts have been fitted out as offices.

Accommodation

The property has been measured by BKR Floor Plans and provides the following net internal floor areas.

Net Frontage 8.08 m 26’6”
Gross Frontage 11.81m 38’9”
Zone A 56.95 sq m 613 sq ft
Zone B 70.05 sq m 754 sq ft
Zone C 53.88 sq m 580 sq ft
Remainder 2.51 sq m 27 sq ft
ITZA   1,138 UNITS
Ground Floor Total 183.38 sq m 1,974 sq ft
     
First Floor 107.21 sq m 1,154 sq ft
Second Floor 111.57 sq m 1,201 sq ft
     
Total NIA 402.16 sq m 4,329 sq ft
Total GIA 492.65 sq m 5,303 sq ft

A set of floor plans is available to download and the measured survey report will be re-addressed to a purchaser at a cost of £425 + VAT.

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Tenure

Freehold.

Tenancies

The ground floor is let to Sportswift Limited (t/a Card Factory) on a full repairing and insuring lease for a term of 5 years from 1st December 2020, expiring on 30th November 2025.

The passing rent is £55,000 per annum, which based on our analysis, equates a Zone A rate of £48.33 per square foot. The rent under the previous lease was £65,000 per annum.

Part ground, first and second floors are let to Thoughtmix Online Services Limited on a full repairing and insuring lease for a term of 5 years from 1st April 2022, expiring 31st March 2027.

The passing rent is £7,500 per annum until 31st March 2023 at which point it rises to £15,000 per annum, which based on our analysis, equates a £6.46 sq ft. The vendor will “top-up” the income to £15,000 so a purchaser does not suffer a shortfall.

A rent deposit of £7,500 + VAT is held by the vendor and will be passed on to the purchaser.

Therefore, an investor will benefit from a total passing rent of £70,000 per annum.

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Covenants

Sportswift Limited (Co. No. 3493972), has reported the following figures:

  31st January 2021 31st January 2020 31st January 2019
Revenue £265,024,000 £443,400,000 £417,167,000
Pre-Tax Profits (£10,866,000) £67,672,000 £66,206,000
Net Asses £42,722,000 £53,736,000 £27,574,000

It is stated in the January 2021 accounts that the decline in revenue and profit is a result of the impact of Covid-19 when the company were forced to close stores for an average of five months.

The Company is the principal trading entity within the Card Factory plc Group, the UK’s leading specialist retailer of greeting cards, dressings and gifts. The Company focuses on the value and mid-market segments of the UK’s large and resilient greeting cards market, in addition to offering a range of complementary products associated with card giving occasions. The UK card and gift market is large and highly fragmented with the greetings card sector alone estimated by industry analysts to be worth c. £1.3 billion at retail sales value.

Card Factory commenced operations in 1997 and now operates through its nationwide chain of over 1,000 stores as well as through its online offering www.cardfactory.co.uk.

A recent article published in The Times titled “The party’s not over for Card Factory” (23 May 2021) explains how the company has been affected by the impact of Covid but, having been profitable since 2014, offering a personalised card service on their website as of 2020 and having sales in Aldi and Matalan stores, the outlook is optimistic for the company and a recommended buy share.

Thoughtmix Online Services Limited (Co. No. 09395247), was established in 2015 and has grown to a team of 20 partner specialists with offices in the United Kingdom and the USA, servicing clients across Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa.

The company guides clients through complex strategies to create or improve revenue via digital means. This includes affiliate management, advertiser and influencer partnerships.

Some of their clients include, Card Factory, Allianz, National Geographic, Cancer Research and Hello Fresh.

The 2021 accounts show net assets on the balance sheet in the sum of £589,554.

The tenant has also paid a rent deposit of £7,500 to the vendor and this will be passed on to a purchaser.

VAT

The property has not been registered for VAT and therefore VAT is not applicable on the purchase price.

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Proposal

We are instructed to seek a figure of £830,000 (Eight Hundred and Thirty Thousand Pounds), subject to contract, reflecting a net initial yield of 8.0% assuming standard purchaser’s costs of 5.53%.

Please note that a purchaser will be re-charged the costs of the measured survey (£425 + VAT) and searches (£698.02) which are provided in the data room.

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

Investment Considerations

  1. An opportunity to acquire a multi let retail and office property in a Cathedral City;

  2. The property is situated within a prime retailing pitch;

  3. New letting in April 2022 demonstrating the strength of this location;

  4. Rent deposit held by the vendor to be passed onto the purchaser;

  5. Future repositioning potential on the upper parts, subject to planning;

  6. VAT is not applicable on the purchase price;

  7. A purchase at the asking price reflects an attractive yield profile;

  8. Attractive lot size to an investor.

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Data Room and clicktopurchase®

Access to the data room and for the ability to purchase online with speed and ease, please click the clicktopurchase® “C” icon or the clicktopurchase® side bar. Purchasers will be able to access the complete legal package, clear verification and submit legally-binding offers to acquire the property.

Purchasers benefit from the trust, security and transparency provided by the platform. All activities, including the online contract execution, will form part of the electronic audit trail which is anchored in the clicktopurchase® Blockchain.

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Contact Us

Singer Vielle   +44 (0) 207 935 7200
Dale Henry dale@singervielle.co.uk +44 (0) 203 701 1356
Daniel Elia daniel@singervielle.co.uk +44 (0) 203 701 1353
Neil Singer neil@singervielle.co.uk +44 (0) 203 478 9120

Vendors Solicitor

Gunnercooke  +44 (0) 333 014 3401
Jonathan Wilkson jonathan.wilkinson@gunnercooke.com