£10m cash deal seals Warrington logistics site for global property player
A global property group has acquired a Warrington logistics site – its first in the UK – for £10m in cash.
Australia-based Cromwell Property Group’s European REIT is now the owner of the 100,000 sq ft facility located on the Kingsland Grange Industrial Estate.
The freehold single-storey logistics building dates back to 1980 and was refurbished earlier this year. It is currently occupied by home delivery specialist Panther Warehousing.
Simon Garing, chief executive of the REIT’s manager, said: “I am delighted to announce CEREIT’s (Cromwell European Real Estate Investment Trust) first acquisition in the UK – a freehold logistics property fully-let for a 10-year lease to a national 3PL tenant-customer in an excellent established UK logistics location.
“We’ve been studying the UK market for some time and actively looking for accretive opportunities for CEREIT to make our entry, so I am pleased that we, as the manager of CEREIT, are able to deliver on our stated strategy in 2021.”
He added: “The acquisition further increases CEREIT’s exposure to light industrial/logistics property to 39%, accelerating CEREIT’s pivot towards logistics.
“We look forward to expanding our footprint in the UK, in line with the stated strategy.
“Cromwell Property Group’s experienced local, on the ground team has once again proven their local asset management capabilities and was instrumental in securing this deal amidst the highly competitive property market in the UK.”
Nathan Jansen
Real estate lawyers from the Manchester office of CMS advised Cromwell Property Group’s European REIT on the deal, which is part of the fund’s deliberate policy of increasing its exposure to warehousing and logistics assets.
The CMS team advising CEREIT was led by real estate partner Nathan Jansen, supported by lawyers Kristina Middleton and David Taylor.
