The portfolio is 85% leased and has a rental income of $135.26 million a year, according to ING. Approximately 61% of its rental income is secured for over 10 years and 85% is secured for over five years, according to ING. The property mix in the portfolio is 25% retail, 40% office, 25% retail, 15% retail-warehouse, 14% industrial, 3% leisure, and 3% mixed-use.

ING contributed $340.34 million in equity financing for the takeover. The properties will be divided between various separate account clients and existing and to be established funds of ING Real Estate in the UK.

The ING Lionbrook fund will be one of largest beneficiaries of the deal. Its value will increase by $455.6 million to $1.18 billion. Moreover, ING officials say the acquisition will realign the portfolio to the sectors where greatest outperformance is expected, raising the fund's performance projections to 11% per year over the next five years.

CB Richard Ellis represented Abbey National in the transaction. A CBRE executive was not immediately available Thursday morning for comment. In a prepared statement, it touts the deal as the largest commercial property transaction in the history of the UK.

Robert Houston, chief executive of ING Real Estate Investment Management UK, says there is a strong demand for U.K. commercial property and that property yields in the U.K. have firmed in the past year. Moreover, he said a portfolio of this magnitude is "unlikely be available again in the near future."

Abbey National PLC is a subsidiary of Spanish bank Grupo Santander. ING Real Estate Investment Management (UK Funds) Ltd. is a unit of Amsterdam-based ING Groep NV. ING Real Estate says it ranks among the three-largest real estate players and has offices in 16 countries in Europe, the U.S. and Australia.

Instant Insights /

GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Abbey National Closes $2B-Plus UK Portfolio Sale

Related Stories

Recommended For You