Grainger buys London residential portfolio

16th Apr 2014 07:58

UK property group Grainger has bought a residential portfolio in London for 160m pounds from Property Investments.The Chelsea Houses Portfolio includes 61 freehold houses and is located across nine streets in Knightsbridge and Chelsea.Grainger said the "unmodernised nature" of the majority of the assets provides "significant potential for value enhancement over the long term" through refurbishment of the properties."It is a very attractive portfolio in one of the most prestigious locations in London and it includes a high concentration of regulated tenancies, a sector in which Grainger has had a long and successful history of investing," said Chief Executive Andrew Cunningham. "Leveraging this experience and the skills within our unique operating platform to manage and enhance residential property, I am confident that we will generate significant value from the portfolio on behalf of our shareholders over time."The portfolio, which generates a gross rent of £1.92m per year, was bought using the company's existing financing facilities. On completion of the transaction, Grainger's available headroom in these existing financing facilities stood at £214m.RD