L&G Property completes purchase of Cardinal Leisure Park

Legal & General Property announces that it has acquired Cardinal Leisure Park, Commercial Road, Ipswich, on behalf of its Linked Pensions Fund, from PRUPIM for circa £19.4 million, representing a net initial yield of 8.4%.

Located less than a mile to the south east of Ipswich town centre, Cardinal Park is the dominant leisure offer for the area and comprises a purpose-built modern scheme totalling 111,300 sq ft. Benefitting from a strong tenant line-up and an average unexpired lease term of 13 years, the centre is 97% let with just 3,300 sq ft remaining vacant, half of which is currently under offer.

Anchored by a Cineworld 11-screen multiplex, it is currently arranged into a terrace of five restaurant units as well as a nightclub and gym, above a pub and two drive-thru restaurants. The Cineworld is consistently ranked within the top 30 cinemas in the UK by number of admissions and seventh within the Cineworld portfolio. Other well-known operators at the scheme include Prezzo, ASK, Nando's, Frankie & Benny's, McDonalds and Punch & Judy.

Despite the recession, leisure activity forecasts have remained strong, as consumer spending on entertainment continues to be one of the least volatile components of total consumer spending as leisure pursuits, such as cinema outings, have become ingrained into our behaviour patterns. With robust forecasts for the leisure sector and no previous exposure to it, the Linked Pensions Fund is now strategically rebalancing its sector weighting.

Harnessing the skills, expertise and strong-track record of its dedicated in-house leisure team, it will continue to seek good quality, modern leisure schemes, that provide opportunity for additional development and/or added value through future lettings and rental uplifts, are anchored by cinemas and dominate the local catchment area.

With extensive reach into the occupational markets and strong links to key tenants, LGP is manager of the top performing Leisure Fund, and is also one of the largest owners of leisure park assets in the UK.

Michael Barrie, Director of Balanced Funds at Legal & General Property, comments: "Cardinal Leisure Park represents a prime leisure park asset offering good opportunities to grow income. As the dominant leisure offer in the area, it benefits from a large and affluent catchment, high annual footfall and a strong tenant mix.

"We will now be looking to showcase our specialist leisure asset management skills by refreshing the existing offer with some visible improvements to the configuration of the space, thereby attracting further high quality operators to the scheme in the future."