RO GROUP’S SOUTH EAST EXPANSION

17/10/2016

Through its wholly owned subsidiary RO Real Estate, which acquires, manages and develops commercial property assets, RO Group has been very active in the south east, underlining its strategy of adopting a long term approach to business.

In Sevenoaks, Kent, RO has acquired a 14,524 sq.ft multi-let office building at 1 Suffolk Way from Marley Pension Limited for £4.6 million. The four-storey office building with 59 parking spaces is close to local amenities and Sevenoaks Railway Station, providing excellent access to London via Charing Cross, Waterloo and London Bridge Stations. RO will seek to refurbish the property and provide high quality accommodation. The low level of supply, coupled with the high demand for good quality office space is already delivering strong rental growth.

Dakota CGI

In Weybridge, Surrey, RO has begun work on Dakota, a speculative office development at Brooklands. A self-contained high quality modern office building comprising 35,582 sq.ft, Dakota will be prominently situated at the heart of the business park which has attracted a number of high profile occupiers including LG, Sony Europe, Samsung, Regus, Proctor & Gamble and Mercedes Benz. On completion, scheduled for March 2017, Dakota will offer four floors of up to 11,200 sq.ft. Future occupiers will also benefit from Grade A office space, 122 dedicated car parking spaces (1:290 sq.ft), two entertainment roof terraces, 30 cycle spaces and eight shower facilities.

Visit Dakota-weybridge.com

Following refurbishment and representation, RO has also recently sold Crabtree Office Village in Egham, Surrey, its four unit office park to House of Hiranandani for £4.3 million. Nearby in Staines, RO also owns Staines One, an 8,188 sq.ft three storey office building adjacent to Staines mainline railway station with 33 dedicated car parking spaces, acquired in 2007 and subsequently fully refurbished.

Following strong demand, RO has fully let the building to tenants which include IDG, United Closures & Plastics and Le Mare Design at rents of up to £28.50psf.

Richard Bourne, head of RO Real Estate, commented: “The south east office market is currently characterised by a limited supply of good quality space and a healthy level of demand. In many areas there is less than 3-6 months of supply and as a result we are seeing strong rental growth. We see this as an excellent opportunity to manage the assets to deliver long-term capital growth and performance given the location and market characteristics. Many of these south east towns also offer alternative use angles, which enables us to de-risk the investment and potentially deliver additional returns. These examples are all reflections of the RO’s approach to property; finding opportunities to create value in every asset we own whether through redevelopment, refurbishment or general asset management.”

For more information visit ROrealestate.co.uk

-Ends-

For further information:

Edward Rowlandson / Nick Moore, RO Real Estate 

01707 601400 / 0207 025 1780

info@rogroup.co.uk

Kirsty Allan, Tavistock   020 7920 3150

kirsty.allan@tavistock.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

RO Real Estate is a privately-owned company specialising in commercial property investment and development in the south east, with a portfolio of more than £81 million of properties and £35 million of cash. It is the property division of the RO Group, which was founded in 1932 by Stanley Graham Rowlandson. His innovative attitude to business has been carried forward by his son, and current Chairman, Richard Rowlandson, who used the Group’s property and retailing experience to develop over 40 neighbourhood centres in the 1980s and 90s and more than 30 Pegasus retirement homes in the 2000s. Now Graham’s grandson and current Group Managing Director, Edward Rowlandson has grasped the mantle overseeing the Group’s investment in various entrepreneurial ventures which in addition to commercial property investment include residential development, high-quality holiday lodge developments, domiciliary and specialist care services.

www.rogroup.co.uk

www.rorealestate.co.uk

RO GROUP CONTINUES TO INVEST IN THE REGIONAL ECONOMY

04/10/2016

Largest single property disposal in group’s history follows acquisition of prominent Southampton site and redevelopment of landmark office building in Weybridge

Established in 1932, RO Group is a family owned business which has a long heritage of investing in local economies across the UK.  It has achieved this through a variety of trading and investment businesses, operating across diverse sectors, as well as by providing substantial support of local community charitable projects and causes.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary RO Real Estate, which acquires, manages and develops commercial property assets, RO is delighted to announce two significant transactions, both of which underline its strategy of adopting a long term approach to business.

Firstly, RO has acquired a prominent 48,441 sq ft office development on the harbour front within Town Quay, Southampton, from TH Real Estate for £7.6 million. Existing tenants include Bank of Scotland, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Lambert Smith Hampton. There are two vacant floors totalling circa 8,725 sq ft which RO is currently refurbishing having agreed a letting at £170,000 per annum; on completion of this letting the property will be fully let. The site is a short walk from West Quay and in an area that has been earmarked for significant redevelopment with numerous retail, commercial and residential development projects planned.  LSH advised TH Real Estate on the sale of Southampton and CBRE advised RO.

With a more than 80 year track record RO has always been committed to identifying and assessing long and medium term opportunities in regions which are being transformed as part of wider urban planning projects. This entrepreneurial attitude and investment in property has run through the ethos of RO Group since it was founded in 1932 by Stanley Graham Rowlandson. His innovative attitude to business has been carried forward by his son, and current Chairman, Richard Rowlandson, who used the Group’s property and retailing experience to develop over 40 neighbourhood centres in the 1980s and 90s and more than 30 Pegasus retirement homes in the 2000s. Now Graham’s grandson and current Group Managing Director, Edward Rowlandson has grasped the mantle overseeing the Group’s investment in various entrepreneurial ventures.

The Group has also just achieved the largest single sale of an individual property asset in its history, being the Staycity Hotel development in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. The Staycity development, which consists of 170 apartments within a five minute walk from the City Centre, has been sold to KFIM Long Income Property Unit Trust (Knight Frank Investors) for almost £21 million.

The land had been in the RO’s ownership since 2008 and despite significant commercial challenges along the way, including two contractors going into administration, RO persevered with the project creating an impressive development right in the centre of Birmingham. Colliers advised RO on the sale of Staycity and Mulberry Bay advised KFI.

Alongside these two transactions the RO has also recently embarked on a speculative redevelopment project in Weybridge. Dakota, previously known as Persimmon House and acquired in late 2013, is a 22,000 sq ft headquarters office building which is being refurbished and extended to provide 35,500 sq ft of grade A space. Construction work has begun and should be complete by the end of March 2017.

Richard Bourne, head of RO Real Estate, commented: “These three examples are all reflections of the RO’s approach to property; finding opportunities to create value in every asset we own whether through redevelopment, refurbishment or general asset management. In doing so, we aim to deliver the optimum returns for the company and the highest quality assets for our occupiers.

“The sale in Birmingham places us in an extremely strong position with significant cash resources, enabling us to move quickly and take advantage of new opportunities as they arise. The current portfolio performs very strongly and we are seeking to build on this by deploying circa £30m of cash in £2-6m lot sizes across southern England. All acquisitions will need to meet out strict criteria: low availability and high take up/demand in strong macro and micro locations. We always look at alternative use options and this can lead us to also buy some less obvious assets such as petrol filling stations and garden centres as well as the more mainstream sectors. The portfolio is risk adjusted with some long income, dry investment assets as well as some value-add opportunities and this will continue.

“The acquisition in Southampton is evidence of our investment in strong regional markets.  This is a good-quality and extremely well-located asset which should prove reversionary given the occupational supply and demand dynamics. It also offers the opportunity to add value through an active asset management strategy.”

Edward Rowlandson, Group Managing Director, RO Group said: “Our experience in Birmingham can perhaps be seen as a microcosm of the recent economy as a whole with its various ups and downs. The team have worked extremely hard to overcome the various challenges, finding solutions to problems and eventually concluding on the sale of this high quality asset.  With the additional resources the disposal has provided we look forward to acquiring new assets which conform to the RO’s instinctive ‘in business to do business’ approach to property.”

-Ends-

For further information:

Edward Rowlandson / Nick Moore, RO Real Estate 

01707 601400 / 0207 025 1780

info@rogroup.co.uk

Kirsty Allan, Tavistock   020 7920 3150

kirsty.allan@tavistock.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

RO Real Estate is a privately-owned company specialising in commercial property investment and development in the south east, with a portfolio of more than £81 million of properties and £35 million of cash. It is the property division of the RO Group, which was founded in 1932 by Stanley Graham Rowlandson. His innovative attitude to business has been carried forward by his son, and current Chairman, Richard Rowlandson, who used the Group’s property and retailing experience to develop over 40 neighbourhood centres in the 1980s and 90s and more than 30 Pegasus retirement homes in the 2000s. Now Graham’s grandson and current Group Managing Director, Edward Rowlandson has grasped the mantle overseeing the Group’s investment in various entrepreneurial ventures which in addition to commercial property investment include residential development, high-quality holiday lodge developments, domiciliary and specialist care services.

www.rogroup.co.uk

www.rorealestate.co.uk