Commercial Property News

Warner Estates, the co-investing Fund Manager, which also has a wholly owned portfolio of 47 properties worth around £213 million, said in its interim management statement today that it had reduced it's voids from 19.4% in March 2010 to 9.8% now.

It had achieved this by disposing of 2 largely vacant London office properties for just above book value at £10.75 million, and working hard on it's largest void at 60 New Broad Street in the City, which now has only one floor not let or under offer.

There is also an industrial property in Swindon, which has been difficult to place, but has now found a tenant in Yuasa, a Japanese-based golf buggy manufacturer. Together all these new tenants will add around £900,000 per annum to income after incentives and rent-free periods expire.

Warner is a co-investor in the Agora, Agora Max, Greater London, Apia and the Ashtenne Industrial funds, having successfully refinanced it's wholly owned debt in March, it is in discussions with it's shopping centre JV lenders to the same ends.

The firm says: " The uncertain economic outlook, limited availability of debt and a weak occupier market continue to restrain growth.  Maintaining income remains paramount and plays well to the Group's asset management expertise to service both existing mandates and those which we aim to win."

Shares in Warner have steadily lost about half their value over the past year and are now worth 19.75p, which values the company at £11.044 million.