International investor swoops for iconic Falcon Works

Alan Murray-Rust / The old Transformer Hall / CC BY-SA 2.0

A major international investor has acquired the iconic Falcon Works site in Loughborough.

QCP Real Estate – the real estate investment arm of Quilvest Capital Partners – is understood to have shelled out around £35m for the multi-let industrial estate, which was most recently used as a manufacturing and warehousing site by train maker Brush Traction.

QCP worked alongside its operating partner Arax Properties to secure the 53-acre estate from Melrose plc.

Quilvest, which has six offices in New York, London, Paris, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Dubai, said the site had “great potential” for redevelopment into grade-A space, and added that it intends to invest significantly in the estate “to support the growth of SME businesses in the Loughborough area.”

Patrick Laroche, principal at Quilvest Capital Partners, said: “We are delighted to have completed this acquisition which maintains QCP Real Estate’s strong legacy investing in multi-let industrial assets globally.

“This is a highly attractive property, due to its favourable location and good accessibility, with significant scope for value add through development and commercial initiatives. This transaction is aligned with our strategic commitment to this segment, where we have significant UK experience via previous investments.”

Falcon Works has been used as a manufacturing site since the 1850s. The first locomotive produced there was made by Henry Hughes in 1863.

The site closed for business in 2021 after Brush Traction’s US-based owner Wabtec said reduced work volumes had made it unsustainable.

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