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Cambridge Research Park.
In March 2011, we acquired a failing office park located north of Cambridge, at an 80% discount to vendor’s in-price.
The low in-price facilitated a pivot from office use to R&D and light industrial, providing much needed mid-tech space for the thriving local economy. Over the four-year hold period, the park was renamed and repositioned as a Life Science and Research & Development (R&D) campus.
Having established the campus to buildings and planning consents appropriate for the location and the market dynamics, the site was sold to a UK institution delivering a 20% IRR and 1.9x multiple.
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LOC8, Maidstone.
In 2020, we acquired a 49-acre site strategically location at Junction 8 M20 in Maidstone, as part of an existing multi-let logistics development portfolio.Phase one of the development, completed in May 2023 comprised of 245,000 sq ft across 11 units, and Phase two completed in October 2024 offering a further 7 units across 185,200 sq ft.
As industrial occupiers demand has shifted in recent years to more sustainability focussed buildings, LOC8 offers a high specification with extensive solar panels and EV charging points throughout and EPC A & A+ (which means some units produce more power than they consume). Phase 1 of the site is BREEAM “Very Good”, with Phase 2 achieving BREEAM “Excellent”. The site also provides for a biodiversity net gain of 10% with 12 acres of new wildlife habitat, including nearly 28,000 new trees and shrubs and three wildlife ponds. Finally, a new electric bus service to Maidstone town centre and cycle lane have also been created as part of wider efforts to reduce car usage, support the community, and provide access for local workers.
In October 2024, LOC8 won ‘Best Overall Scheme-Multi-Let Industrial Estate’ at the IAS awards.
Learn more about LOC8 here.
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Mercury Portfolio.
The Mercury portfolio was sold by a distressed institutional vendor and initially comprised 24 assets, nine of which were sub-sold, via three separate transactions, delivering an £11m day one profit. The transaction was a 50:50 JV with Patron Capital with debt from Santander.
The portfolio included office, industrial, retail warehousing and high street retail units located throughout the UK.
The remaining profit was generated via Intensive asset management Including the refurbishment and letting of 250,000 sq ft of vacant space. Assets were sold individually on the completion of each asset level business plan.
We achieved an early exit thanks to the rapid implementation of our asset management plans, further enhancing the value of the portfolio.