Asset manager secures airport office building in major deal
A 24,000 sq ft Grade A office building, next to East Midlands Airport, has been acquired by Birmingham-based real estate asset manager Blue Marble on behalf of an in-house private client.
The property, Unit 1B, Pegasus Business Park, Castle Donington, is let to international serviced office provider Regus on a 25-year lease, expiring in June 2026.
The value of the deal has not been disclosed but the property was being marketed for £3.38m. Savills represented the vendor.
Edward Jones, Investment Director at Blue Marble, who acquired the long leasehold, said: “Achieving such a high yield for a Grade A HQ office building, with nine years unexpired, is exceptionally hard to achieve in the present market.
“We are very comfortable that if the building did become vacant then it would swiftly re-let, either as a whole or part, off a higher rent, and achieve a significant upwards shift in capital value.
“The Regus Centre is extremely well managed and the building recently benefited from a comprehensive refurbishment.”
He said Regus had demonstrated its ambitions in August when it acquired rival operator Basepoint Business Centres in a deal thought to be worth £100m. This increased the Regus UK portfolio to more than 340 centres.
“This demonstrates the ambition that Regus have, which in turn will have a positive impact on value for our client’s property,” he added.
Other occupiers at Pegasus Business Park include: PwC, Nikon, PKF Cooper-Parry, and National Grid.
The purchase follows Blue Marble’s acquisitions of the freehold investments in Red Kangaroo’s 38,000 sq ft Nottingham Trampoline Park, and in a 10,000 sq ft office building at Robin Hood Airport, Doncaster, both on behalf of CRT Property Investments.
Based in Birmingham’s Colmore Business District, Blue Marble currently has more than £70m of property assets under management.
