Property Deals: £10m office scheme acquired; trade counter changes hands; expansion for undertakers
A 3.5-acre office park on the outskirts of Lichfield has been acquired in a new deal.
The park comprises three buildings and is situated within the Lichfield South development. The package had been marketed at £10.8m.
Blue Marble Asset Management acquired the headquarters buildings on behalf of an in-house private client.
The three buildings offer 42,943 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation and are complete with 215 car parking spaces.
The Lichfield South site benefits from a strategic location close to the intersection of the A5, A5127 and A38 trunk roads, plus it is just minutes away from a main junction of the M6 Toll.
The property was being marketed for £10.8 million, representing a net initial yield of 7%. Savills represented the vendor.
Developed in 2007, Lichfield South also benefits from significant on-site amenities including a David Lloyd Health & Racquets Club, a Holiday Inn Express Hotel and three restaurants. It has ‘Strategic Site’ status awarded to it by the inward investment arm of the Staffordshire LEP.
Edward Jones, Investment Director at Birmingham-based Blue Marble, said: “The dynamics of the location, the underlying quality of the assets and lack of competing schemes is what first drew our attention to this investment.
“We also recognised that Lichfield is a highly affluent and attractive city, which enjoys a higher than average employment skills base, evidenced by the grade of occupiers the scheme has attracted, and a prerequisite to sustaining high quality tenants.
“The property was 88% occupied at the time of our acquisition but already we have terms out on the one remaining vacant part to a blue-chip company.”
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Commercial property consultancy GJS Dillon has completed the sale of a trade counter / warehouse unit in Malvern for £185,500.
Acting on behalf of a private investor, Mike Pritchard, commercial negotiator at GJS Dillon, sold the virtual freehold (999 years) of the unit at Enigma Business Park to Uni-Tect, for over the guide price.
The 1,600 sq ft Unit 2, Malvern Business Centre (below) consists of a 1,200 sq ft ground floor warehouse, with 400 sq ft of mezzanine storage accommodation. It is part of a complex of nine modern trade counter/business units.
Mr Pritchard said: “We achieved over the guide price for this desirable modern property, as freeholds of both industrial and office properties are highly sought after in Malvern.
“It is a good time for landlords to sell.”
Unit 2, Malvern Business Centre
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A Worcestershire funeral directors has undergone expansion after acquiring new premises for its latest acquisition.
James Giles and Sons, which is celebrating 100 years of trading, has acquired Studley counterpart, A Dyer and Sons.
The firm has also agreed a five-year lease on a 1,740 sq ft unit in High Street, Studley.
James Giles, now run by third, fourth and fifth generations of the family, is headed by the founder’s great-grandson, also called James.
He said: “We had heard that those running A Dyer and Sons were looking to retire, and so stepped in.
“We have taken over the business, and this is very much an expansion for us.
“It is a new location, a significant investment and we are determined to make a success of it.”
Ian Parker, a director of John Truslove who brokered the lease deal, said: “They have chosen a prominent location in the heart of Studley and people will quickly become aware of their presence.”
Robert and Christine Dyer, Ray Giles – all James Giles and Sons, with Ian Parker
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