Metric Property Investments, a UK retail real estate investment trust, says approximately GBP48m of its net IPO proceeds have been invested or committed since flotation.

The company completed  a GBP190m flotation on the main market of the London Stock Exchange on 24 March 2010 at 100p per share, becoming the first UK property company to enter the Reit regime at its IPO debut.

It became a member of the FTSE Small Cap Index on 21 June 2010.

Metric made its first acquisition, Damolly Retail Park, Newry for GBP31.5m and, within weeks, announced that Mothercare had been secured as a tenant on the remaining vacant space, increasing the average rent across the park from GBP12.70 to GBP14.10 per square foot.

It recently acquired Launceston Retail Park for GBP13.5m, reflecting a deemed initial yield of 5.86 per cent.

Andrew Jones, chief executive of Metric, says: “Our purchase of Launceston Retail Park, announced this morning, complements our existing investment in Newry and satisfies the key investment criteria we set out at the time of the IPO. Both properties offer significant opportunities for our active programme of asset management initiatives to grow rental income, which we aim to deliver over the short to medium-term. 

“Our extensive experience in the retail property market, together with our substantial financial firepower, leaves us well placed to continue to exploit the increasing amount of investment opportunities becoming available. We continue to assess a significant pipeline of potential acquisitions but will only make investments where our key returns criteria are met and we are confident that the investment will perform in a softening market.”