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Auctions / Cardiff

171 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, CF11 9AH

  • Retail Investment Opportunity
  • 759 sq ft (70.5 sq m)
  • Guide Price of £200,000 reflects an Initial Yield of 7.00%

Description

The property comprises of a ground floor lock up shop some 17 ft 3 inch wide and 43 ft deep, with a built depth of around 48 ft. Overall, it is 759 sq ft (70.5 sq m).

The tenure is a long leasehold interest of 999 years from 24 June 1995 at a fixed ground rent of £50 per annum.

Location

Cardiff is a thriving retail and commercial centre located in the south of Wales overlooking the Severn Estuary. It is the capital city of Wales and home to the Welsh National Assembly.

Cardiff is marketed as ‘Europe’s Youngest Capital’ and is well served by transport links with the M4 motorway to London and an international airport. Ninian Park railway station lies about half a mile from the property.

Cowbridge Road East is one of Cardiff’s main arterial roads in and out of the city centre. The location of the property is about 1 mile to Cardiff city centre. The property is within a bustling stretch of shops running on either side of Cowbridge Road East, which serve a sizeable residential area popular with Cardiff’s student population (there are 26,000 or so students based at the city’s universities).

Nearby amenities include a 2 hour free parking zone located on both sides of Cowbridge Road East. Nearby occupiers include Boots, Coral, Greggs, Tesco, William Hill, Savers, Home Bargains amongst a host of local covenants. Despite the wider retraction within the retail market, Cowbridge Road East has remained reasonably buoyant.

The property forms part of what was a wider redevelopment completed around the early 2000’s and a residential scheme, the Cube was added to the upper floors.

Tenure

Long Leasehold

Tenancy

The entire property is let to Sportswift Ltd T/A Card Factory for a term of 10 years from 17th May 2014 at a current rent of £14,000 per annum. The lease provides for rent reviews every fifth year of the term and contains fully repairing and insuring covenants. The 2019 rent review remains outstanding.

Tenant Information

The tenant is the principal trading entity within Card factory PLC group which is listed company on the London Stock Exchange and is one of UK's leading specialist retailer of greeting cards, dressings and gifts. Card Factory has over 1022 stores and over 9,400 employees. Interim revenue reported for FY 2020 is £451m, underlying adjusted EBITDA (a) of 81.2 £’m and underlying adjusted EBITDA Margin (b) of 18% (Source: www.cardfactoryinvestors.com).

For the financial year ending 31st January 2019, Sportswift Ltd reported a turnover of £417m and a net profit after taxation of £50.7m and total net assets of 27.5m (Source: Financial Statements filed at Companies House)

(a) Underlying EBITDA defined as underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. “Underlying” excludes gains/ (losses) on derivative financial instruments not designated as a hedge, refinancing costs and other nonunderlying operating costs

(b) Underlying Adjusted EBITDA divided by Revenue

VAT

Refer to the legal documentation

Lease Start Date

24/06/1995

Lease Duration

999 years (972 years unexpired)

Annual Ground Rent

£50

* Generally speaking Guide Prices are provided as an indication of each seller's minimum expectation, i.e. 'The Reserve'. They are not necessarily figures which a property will sell for and may change at any time prior to the auction. Virtually every property will be offered subject to a Reserve (a figure below which the Auctioneer cannot sell the property during the auction) which we expect will be set within the Guide Range or no more than 10% above a single figure Guide.

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Agreement Documents

Additional Documents

Subject to Contract and Exclusive of VAT © Lambert Smith Hampton April 2025

Disclaimer: Lambert Smith Hampton Group Limited and its subsidiaries, including LSH Property Auctions, and their joint agents if any (“LSH”) for themselves and for the seller or landlord of the property whose agents they are give notice that: (i) These particulars are given and any statement about the property is made without responsibility on the part of LSH or the seller or landlord and do not constitute the whole or any part of an offer or contract. (ii) Any description, dimension, distance or area given or any reference made to condition, working order or availability of services or facilities, fixtures or fittings, any guarantee or warrantee or statutory or any other permission, approval or reference to suitability for use or occupation, photograph, plan, drawing, aspect or financial or investment information or tenancy and title details or any other information set out in these particulars or otherwise provided shall not be relied on as statements or representations of fact or at all and any prospective buyer or tenant must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise as to the accuracy of all information or suitability of the property. (iii) No employee of LSH has any authority to make or give any representation or warranty arising from these particulars or otherwise or enter into any contract whatsoever in relation to the property in respect of any prospective purchase or letting including in respect of any re-sale potential or value or at all. (iv) Price or rent may be subject to VAT and any prospective buyer or tenant must satisfy themselves concerning the correct VAT position. (v) Except in respect of death or personal injury caused by the negligence of LSH or its employees or agents, LSH will not be liable, whether in negligence or otherwise howsoever, for any loss arising from the use of these particulars or any information provided in respect of the property save to the extent that any statement or information has been made or given fraudulently by LSH. (vi) In the case of new development or refurbishment prospective buyers or tenants should not rely on any artists’ impressions or architects’ drawings or specification or scope of works or amenities, infrastructure or services or information concerning views, character or appearance and timing concerning availability or occupation and prospective buyers or tenants must take legal advice to ensure that any expectations they may have are provided for direct with the seller or landlord and LSH shall have no liability whatsoever concerning any variation or discrepancy in connection with such matters.