Edwards advise on £9m sale in Liverpool

A £150m multi-let urban logistics investment fund has acquired Brunswick Business Park's North and South Harrington buildings in Liverpool for £9m.

Managed by London-based property investment company JR Capital and asset manager Chancerygate, which has an office in Warrington, the fund acquired the 120,000 sq ft fully let industrial estate from CEG.

Located less than one mile south of the city centre with frontage on the A5036 Sefton Street, the North and South Harrington buildings benefit from close proximity to the M62, M57 and M53 motorways.

North Harrington is currently arranged as one unit and occupied by indoor go-karting company, TeamSport. The unit extends to 54,500 sq ft in size and benefits from access via 10 sliding sectional goods access doors, as well as customer parking to the front and a large parking area to the rear.

South Harrington comprises a former dockside warehouse which has been reconfigured to six self-contained warehouse units at ground floor, with the first floor offering high quality office accommodation. Current occupiers include Royal Mail and specialist clinical nutrition products producer, Vitaflo, part of the Nestle Group.

JR Capital's head of investment, Michael Ferris, said: "We are pleased to have completed this latest acquisition for the fund. Brunswick Park offers high yielding and well diversified income, anchored by some really quality tenants.

"The surplus land on the 10-acre site is suitable for development for a variety of uses providing us with an opportunity to roll our sleeves up and add value in the short term."

JR Capital and Chancerygate's £150m fund has a five-year life and is targeting urban logistics, industrial and warehousing investments across the UK in lot sizes of £10m to £20m.

The partners' first fund, which totalled £100m, secured 18 assets ranging from Dundee to Exeter over a two-year period. The assets comprised 150 units totalling more than one million sq ft.

Chancerygate head of investment and asset management, Simon Cowley, said: "This strategic acquisition secures an excellent asset to add to our growing portfolio within the resilient North West market.

"The fully let nature of buildings signifies the strength of demand for this type of accommodation."

JR Capital is a multi-family office business with a focus on UK and European real estate. The business provides a platform for its Middle East-based private and institutional investor base principally from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai, and Kuwait to co-invest into both UK and European real estate via funds and segregated mandates.

Established in 2005 by John Collier-Wright, JR Capital has concluded more than £2bn of transactions across all major sectors.

Founded in 1995, Chancerygate said it is the UK's largest urban logistics property developer and asset manager and the only one operating nationwide.

The company currently manages in excess of £385m of assets across more than five million sq ft of commercial space in around 480 units.

B8 acted on behalf of Chancerygate and JR Capital, while Edwards & Co advised CEG.

Oliver Rowe, of Edwards, said: "The strong interest generated during the sale demonstrates healthy investor demand for value add industrial investment opportunities in strong urban locations."

Article by Neil Hodgson - The Business Desk - 18 March 2024