Ediston

On 29 September 2023 Ediston Property Investment Company plc (the “Company“) sold the entirety of the EPIC Group’s property portfolio to RI UK 1 Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Realty Income Corporation, for a total gross aggregate cash consideration of £196.8 million (comprising the headline consideration of £200.8 million less agreed deductions of £4.0 million) (the “Disposal“). It is the intention of the board of directors of the Company (the “Board“) to seek shareholder approval for the voluntary liquidation of the Company with the aim of distributing the Company’s net assets (which comprise of cash) to shareholders by the end of this calendar year, unless an appropriate corporate opportunity is identified in the meantime which, in the view of

(a) Articles of Association 2020 Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements 2021 Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements 2022 Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements 2023 Half-Year Results Dickson Minto Advisers Consent to Inclusion of Name Investec Consent to Inclusion of Name (d) Valuation Report (e) Circular SPA

Springkerse Retail Park was acquired in August 2021 for £21.85 million in an ‘off market’ transaction. The price reflected a net initial yield of 9.54%. The asset is the dominant retail park in Stirling and extends to 162,593 sq. ft. across 12 units. On acquisition it was let to 10 tenants, with B&Q the anchor. Other tenants included Wren Kitchens, DFS, Pets at Home and Halfords. Our strategy was to reposition the asset by modernising the unit frontages with the aim of retaining existing tenants, attracting new ones and improving the rental tone of the park. To achieve this the park needed to be more desirable to tenants. Whilst the previous owner had started to make improvements to the property,

The Investment Manager has continued to deliver asset management initiatives since the start of its new financial year on 1 October 2022. 13 transactions have completed across eight of the Company’s retail warehouse parks. Deals have been completed at Stirling, Widnes, Prestatyn, Wrexham, Hull, Coatbridge, Daventry and Barnsley, over 185,000 sq. ft. of space. The transactions, which include lease renewals, lease extensions, new lettings and Agreements for Lease have secured £2.4m of rental income per annum with tenants such as B&M, Poundland, Mamas and Papas, DFS, Superdrug, B&Q and M&S. It is encouraging that these lettings have been secured in line with or ahead of the valuer’s ERVs. It is also significant that 10 of the tenants currently trade from

The Company has completed an Agreement for Lease with Marks and Spencer at Plas Coch Retail Park, Wrexham. On completion of landlord works, expected in August 2023, M&S will sign a 10-year lease on a newly created 21,000 sq. ft. unit and will pay a market rent which is 27% ahead of the independent valuer’s Estimated Rental Value. A separate unit of 4,000 sq. ft. will be created as part of the works, which will provide additional income to the Company once let. We believe this unit will be attractive to occupiers given it is adjacent to M&S. Calum Bruce, Investment Manager, commented: “Securing a tenant of M&S’s calibre is transformational for our asset and underscores the strength of the

The Company has sold its leisure asset at Southwater Square, Telford, which is let to Rank Group Gaming Division Limited on a lease which expires on 28 September 2022. The sale price of £5,000,000 is 67% above the most recent valuation of the property (31 March 2022). The property was acquired by an owner-occupier. The sale is in line with the revised investment strategy, announced in Q3 2021, to sell its office and leisure assets and to reinvest the proceeds in retail warehouses. Southwater Square was the last non-retail warehouse property in the portfolio.

Retail reimagined We’ve all heard about the great shift in shopping as consumers move online. The Covid pandemic, so the story goes, has accelerated the transition to e-commerce, with bricks losing out to clicks. But that’s not the whole story. It’s true that our shopping patterns have been changing for some time. And it’s true that this change sped up during the pandemic. But rather than online-only, it’s the ‘omnichannel’ model that’s emerging in the dominant position.   The omnichannel experience So what is omnichannel? Essentially, it combines online and offline sales for a fuller customer experience. Many of us are already familiar with its most common manifestation – click and collect. This is a hybrid model in which you

Resilience in retail: why we believe retail warehouses are still winners Since the COVID-19 Crisis began, retail warehousing has demonstrated its resilience – holding up much better than most other areas of the UK retail market. But now, as we contend with a cost-of-living crisis, does the sector still have more to offer? We believe it does. That’s why the Ediston Property Investment Company has become a retail warehouse specialist, having sold our office and leisure holdings. With every week that passes, we are reassured that this was the right thing to do. Retail warehousing’s strengths shone during the pandemic. Many stores in retail parks were able to stay open even during the most stringent lockdowns. Their out-of-town locations proved

The Company has sold its leisure asset at The Lanyard, Hartlepool, which is let to Mecca Bingo Limited. The sale price was £2.62m. The Investment Manager had completed a lease extension with the tenant in quarter four last year which extended the unexpired lease term by seven years. The Company now has one leisure asset remaining in the property portfolio.

The Company has completed the sale of its final office asset, St Philips Point, Birmingham. The headline price of the disposal was £24.5m. The sale is in line with the Company’s revised strategy, announced in Q3 2021, to sell its office assets and to reinvest the proceeds in retail warehouses, a sector which the Company believes has good potential for both income and capital growth. Calum Bruce, Investment Manager, commented: “We have completed the first phase of our revised strategy, to pivot towards the retail warehouse sector. Good progress is being made in identifying suitable retail warehouse assets to acquire, which will provide the Company with an attractive level of income, as well as asset management opportunities to exploit.”