Stoford JV secures airport site for £100m logistics development
A new joint venture involving Birmingham-based developer Stoford has acquired a 45-acre brownfield site adjacent to Manchester Airport in order to progress a £100m industrial sceme.
Stoford’s partner in the logistics-focused JV – Icon Industrial – is TPG Real Estate, the real estate platform of TPG.
The partnership has bought the site from the Airport City Manchester joint venture. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Airport City Manchester opted to sell the land to capitalise on the strong demand for developable land around the transport hub.
The site, which benefits from outline planning permission for 952,000 sq ft of lettable logistics space, is the first investment made by the new joint venture and the partnership said it intended to develop the land into a prime asset, with a total development value of around £100m.
Located within a key logistics corridor in the North West, the site boasts direct access to both the M6 and M56, with 12 million people living within a two-hour drive, making it an important location for both regional and national distribution.
Already established as a prime North West logistics site, the land also hosts operators such as Amazon and DHL, which have benefited from its current infrastructure, transport links and proximity to the airport.
Both TPG Real Estate and Stoford said they intended to build Icon Industrial into a logistics platform by acquiring and developing similarly attractive UK sites, as well as refurbishing existing prime logistics locations.
TPG Real Estate has significant experience investing in logistics, having built and recently sold the highly successful European logistics platform P3, while Stoford has completed over 10m sq ft of industrial development in the UK, mostly in the Midlands’ Golden Triangle and the North West logistics markets.
Krysto Nikolic, partner at TPG Real Estate, said: “The continued strength in occupational demand for UK logistics represents a compelling investment opportunity for TPG Real Estate.
“The formation of Icon Industrial leverages the combination of TPG Real Estate’s strong track record in European and US industrial investments and Stoford’s market-leading position in the UK. Icon’s first acquisition is of one of the highest-quality logistics locations in the country. We look forward to working closely with Stoford in building Icon Industrial into a leading development platform.”
Dan Gallagher, joint managing director at Stoford, said: “The joint venture with TPG Real Estate is a new phase in Stoford’s business development. The support of our new partners will open doors for the acquisition of land and development of prime logistic opportunities within the UK. The combination of Stoford’s 21 years’ of development experience and TPG’s financial strength is a strong team in this market sector.”
Lynda Shillaw, CEO of Airport City Manchester Joint Venture partner MAG Property, said: “The sale of 45 acres at Global Logistics is a significant milestone. Airport City Manchester is a really exciting location for occupiers, located at the southern growth node of the region, an already well-established business location alongside the Manchester Airport campus.”
DTRE acted as advisers to Icon Industrial.
