Barwood buys airport office scheme

PROPERTY group Barwood has acquired a 107,000 sq ft office scheme close to Manchester Airport in an off-market deal.

It has bought Greencourts, a business park on Styal Road, from Standard Life. The price was not disclosed but it is thought to have changed hands for around £10m.

The park sits on a 7.5-acre site with five buildings ranging in size from 14,838 sq ft to 24,927 sq ft.  

Three of them are vacant with US food ingredients supplier Ingredion and outsourcing specialist Capita occupying the other two.

Northampton-based Barwood has acquired the site through its Manchester-based Barwood North division which will rename the site Manchester Green and is planning a refurbishment programme which will include a drive through coffee shop and a “bike hub”.
 
Andrew Dickman of Barwood said: “This is the third major acquisition that we have made since establishing the North West office of Barwood nearly 10 months ago and our first office scheme. We are steadily creating a diverse portfolio of industrial, office and leisure schemes which we have been able to secure using our own funds allowing us to complete transactions quickly.

“Manchester Green is a complex site and we are hugely committed to making a substantial investment in the scheme not only to realize the true potential that it has to offer but also to take it to the next stage of evolution placing it ahead of other office schemes in the area.”

Canning O’Neill acted for Barwood, while Whitaker Horton acted on behalf of Standard Life Investments.