W. P. Carey Grabs UK Government Office Facility for $62M

NEW YORK, and MANCHESTER, UK-W. P. Carey Inc., a leading provider of corporate sale-leaseback financing, has acquired an office facility of the Department of State for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), a department of the UK Government, located in Manchester. The total acquisition cost of the facility was approximately $62 million (GBP40 million/EUR47 million).

The facility is leased to the DCLG on a 15-year, triple-net lease and is currently occupied by the UK's tax department, Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC). HMRC has consolidated its staff from several locations into the building, which now accommodates approximately 2,000 employees.

“The transaction demonstrates W.P. Carey's ability to source and complete attractive deals in key European markets,” said Jennifer Lucas, director of W. P. Carey. “The UK is the second largest European economy and has an AAA-rating. Together with a Government lessee, we believe we have secured a strong, long-term tenant. The recent staff consolidation into the facility demonstrates that this is an important location for HMRC and supports our proven business model of acquiring key operating assets let to single tenants on long-term net-leases.”

Manchester is the UK's third largest city, with the most active office market outside of London. The facility is located in Salford, west of the city center in a key redevelopment area. The ongoing redevelopment in the area is expected to increase the attractiveness of the location and have a positive impact on the local real estate market.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, W. P. Carey Inc. is a publicly traded REIT hat provides long-term sale-leaseback and build-to-suit financing for companies worldwide and owns and manages an investment portfolio totaling approximately $15.4 billion. The largest owner/manager of net lease assets, WPC's corporate finance-focused credit and real estate underwriting process is a constant that has been successfully leveraged across a wide variety of industries and property types. Its portfolio of long-term leases with creditworthy tenants has an established history of generating stable cash flows.