Gloucestershire business park sold in £50m deal
A business park in the heart of Gloucestershire is to be sold in a deal worth almost £50m.
Sirius Real Estate, an owner and operator of branded business and industrial parks in Germany and the UK, has exchanged contracts on the acquisition of Vantage Point Business Village – the former home of the Rank Xerox factory.
The company is acquiring the multi-let business park for a total acquisition cost of £48.25m.
The acquisition has been made using the proceeds of the company’s £147 million capital raise, achieved last November.
The acquisition represents the first asset in the UK and the fourth asset in total acquired by Sirius this calendar year, following the purchases of business and industrial parks in Köln, Göppingen and Klipphausen for approximately €53.75m.
Through this purchase, Sirius will add more than 1.5 million sq ft of space to its BizSpace portfolio, of which over 1 million sq ft is industrial space.
The 60-acre business park at Mitcheldean was known first for manufacturing Rank projection equipment then as Rank Xerox’s manufacturing hub between 1961 and 2003.
It is 81% occupied and offers a mixture of warehouse, production, storage, conventional and serviced office space to over 70 companies across 119 units.
Sirius has identified a number of opportunities to drive value by utilising its asset management platform to improve occupancy, income and service charge recovery.
The total acquisition cost includes a £1.25m deferred element which is conditional on certain events taking place within nine months of completion.
As part of the acquisition, Sirius has also acquired a PV solar business from the vendor which currently supplies most of the electricity to the site from panels installed on certain buildings, providing energy security and an attractive income stream.
Situated in a highly desirable location on the edge of The Forest of Dean, and close to a number of major cities including Bristol to the South, Gloucester to the East and Cardiff to the South West, the park benefits from good transport networks and connectivity to the national motorway network via the A40 and M50.
Proximity to other Sirius sites, including Gloucester Barnwood and Gloucester Morelands, will enable the company to leverage operational synergies alongside its local market expertise.
