40 Park St 3,609 sq ft Retail Property Ashford TN24 8LS £555,000 (£153.78/sq ft) 7.75% Net Initial Yield

This property, formerly trading as Po Thai Restaurant, is located on the southern side of Park Street, to the left of the McDonald's car park. It is opposite The Panorama building and is only a few hundred yards walking distance from Ashford town centre. Whilst this is a prominent trading location on a busy thoroughfare, it is in a secondary position; however, it will be adjacent to a development site proposed to be a hotel in the near future. Other nearby traders include Café Nero, Halifax Building Society, The British Heart Foundation, and Bet Fred.
Ashford, one of Kent's designated growth centres, currently has a population of approximately 100,000 inhabitants and is set to grow substantially in the next 20 years. The town is centrally located within the county, benefitting from a fine communications network via the A20/M20 and five mainline railways. Ashford International Passenger Station can give direct access to northern continental Europe via Eurostar, and London is some 38 minutes distant via HS-1.
This detached building of solid brick construction provides approximately 3,600 sq. ft. of accommodation over three floors. The ground floor comprises just under 1,700 sq. ft. and currently includes a bar area with open plan seating, with separate kitchen and WCs. The first floor of just under 1,300 sq. ft. is open plan and includes bar, kitchen, and WCs. The second floor of just under 650 sq. ft. was previously used as offices and staff restroom accommodation and is split into several areas which formerly included a kitchen, shower room, and WC.
The building is likely to be remembered locally as the 'Downtown Diner'; and having gone through a couple of temporary iterations, it is now let to Galaxy Dance and Gymnastics Ltd, who use it as their dance school. The former decking area to the front was removed during recent refurbishments to provide a further 3 or 4 car parking spaces.
The premises have been let on a new 6-year FRI lease to Galaxy Dance & Gymnastics Ltd. The rent in year one is £42,000 per annum, rising to £43,000 in year two and £44,000 in year three, after which there is a rent review to open market rent. Additionally, there is a tenant operable break clause at the end of year three, subject to six months’ prior written notice.
Offers are being sought in excess of £555,000, which shows an initial yield of 7.75%. It is not thought that VAT is applicable to this sale price; however, purchasers should make their own enquiries.
Each party will be responsible for their own legal costs in the transaction.