IN CONTRAST to Land Securities, the buyer of Aintree Racecourse Retail Park – London & Stamford (L&S) – seems to be happy to splash the cash.

The AIM-listed company is clearly an example of how investors with money to spare can find real bargains in a depressed commercial property market.

In the past few months, the company has spent £245m on new acquisitions.

Recent deals include the acquisition of law firm Denton Wilde Sapte, taking a 16% stake in Meadowhall, the Sheffield shopping centre, from British Land, and buying a newly-built office block in Leeds.

The Aintree deal was added to that list in the last few days. The firm has also announced it has bought a Somerfield distribution centre for £20m. L&S appears to have seen the downturn coming earlier than its bigger and better-known rivals.

In late 2007, it raised £248m, allowing it to build up a war chest. This strategy appears to be paying off now.

Commercial property values have fallen up to 40% from their peak and rental yields are approaching double-digits.

The strategy consists of buying properties with solid tenancies and unexpired leases running for 12 years and more. This has meant L&S has been the only quoted property company to have created value for shareholders in the 12 months to March 31.

It is run by the same team that built Arlington Securities and Pillar Property, both of which were bought at the bottom and sold at the top. Pillar, which owned the New Mersey Retail Park, in Speke, was acquired by British Land in 2005, for £811m.

Speaking about the purchase of the Aintree site, Raymond Mould, the non-executive chairman of L&S, said: “The park combines security of income from a good tenant mix, sustainable rents and, after leverage, a very attractive cash-on- equity return.”