Industrial deals worth £17m ‘show market resilience’

Lambert Smith Hampton’s (LSH) capital markets team in Birmingham has marked a strong second quarter with the completion of four industrial investment deals worth in excess of £17m.

The team is bucking the national downward trend, which saw commercial property investment across the Midlands fall in Q1 as the ongoing Brexit impasse continues to have a negative impact on the market.

Industrial investments in Wednesfield, Kidderminster, Erdington and Hinckley, totalling more than 200,000 sq ft, changed hands in deals completed by the Birmingham team.

Adam Ramshaw, regional director and head of Birmingham said: “The capital markets team has enjoyed a great Q2 and is capitalising on the continued levels of investment being seen in the industrial market in particular.  While concerns in the occupational market have impacted on pricing and liquidity in other sectors, the favourable demand and supply dynamics in the industrial market has meant that it remains the sector of choice for many.

“The four transactions, completed over just a six week period, demonstrate that there is still money out there for the right deals.”

The largest of the four transactions was in Erdington where LSH advised on the acquisition of a well let warehouse for over £5m.  Elsewhere, they successfully sold Units 2-4 Steelpark Trading Estate in Wednesfield in a deal worth over £4m.

The estate was speculatively developed by West Midlands property company Goold Estates and was fully let within weeks of practical completion.  The units were let to Zurich Insurance Group, Cooper Coated Coil, Smith’s Metals, each for a minimum term of 10 years and with the benefit of RPI or CPI linked rent reviews.

In the East Midlands, LSH purchased a manufacturing and distribution unit in Hinckley for over £3.5m by way of a sale and leaseback while in Kidderminster they sold a 75,000 sq ft manufacturing warehouse in Kidderminster for a local property company.