Sainsbury’s Bank Edinburgh HQ sold in £19m deal

The four-floor, 84,373 sq ft property building at 3 Lochside Avenue in Edinburgh Park has been sold to investment manager CCLA for £19m.

CCLA acquired the building, is let to Sainsbury’s Bank until September 2029 and currently generates £1.2m rent a year, for the Local Authorities Property Fund.

“Our investment in 3 Lochside Avenue has performed extremely well,” said Louise Swinden, associate director at Aviva Investors. “Funding a comprehensive refurbishment of the property enabled us to create Grade A office accommodation that is rarely available in west Edinburgh.

“With the subsequent letting to Sainsbury’s, we managed to secure one of the UK’s highest profile household brands on a 15-year lease, which ultimately allowed us to release enhanced value for the fund.”

The sale reflects a yield of 6.31 per cent.

JLL, which acted for Aviva on the sale, said it represented another milestone in the success story of Edinburgh Park. The 148-acre business park, established in the 1990s, is home to occupiers employing more than 7,000 people, including BT, HSBC, Diageo, Aegon and JP Morgan.