Great Brighams Mead sold for £19m

McKay Securities has sold 84,840 sq ft Great Brighams Mead in Reading to residential developer King’s Oak for £19 million.

The former home of Three in Vastern Road has prior approval to convert it to 110 flats and the price (which equates to £224 psf) reflects a premium of 21 per cent on the book value on September 30. Completion of the sale is conditional on delivering vacant possession which is anticipated in April 2022.

McKay, which first acquired the 2.6-acre site in 1973 for £91,000 and built Great Brighams Mead in 2000, said proceeds from the sale will initially be used to reduce its borrowings, prior to reinvestment in value add opportunities including acquisitions, development and asset management initiatives.

Simon Perkins, chief executive of McKay, said: “This sale is a positive conclusion to the company’s ownership of this site and Great Brighams Mead’s lifecycle as an office.

“It is a good illustration of our active asset management and our ability to maximise the value of our portfolio for the benefit of shareholders. In this instance, our analysis of a full range of potential uses for the building concluded that a residential sale would optimise value.

“We have been able to achieve this, having obtained planning consent for residential conversion prior to disposal, delivering a 21 per cent surplus over book value.”

Savills acted for McKay and BNP Paribas acted for King’s Oak.

Sign up to receive your free weekly Thames Tap journal here.