Leytonstone, London

The property comprised a former 25,946 sq ft (2,411 sq m) purpose built supermarket on a 2.2 acre (0.89 ha) site vacated following the opening of a nearby Tesco’s Extra superstore. The property had been marketed with vacant possession and a best bid of £3.75m received. Geoff Player was then asked to review the asset management and planning options, their value implications and to recommend an alternative strategy to optimise value. The building and the majority of the car park were let as a whole to Matalan on a 25 year, FRI lease at £510,000 pax with 5 yearly reviews, no breaks and a £200k capital contribution.

On completion, the value increased to £6.2m. The remaining part of the car park comprising 0.42 acres (0.89 ha) was let to Matalan on a separate lease with landlords termination rights. Outline planning consent was then secured on the 0.42 acre site for 53 apartments and the site then sold off for a further £3.25m. The Matalan investment was held for a period of 12 years generating £6.12m of revenue before ultimately being sold for £7.0m with 13 years unexpired.