Property investor snaps up Warwickshire trading estate
A Warwickshire trading estate has been acquired for £1.875m, with plans to refurbish and extend the site.
Asper Property Group has purchased Earlswood Trading Estate, near Solihull, in a deal brokered by property agents John Truslove.
The estate was purchased from the Shephard family which has owned the estate for around 100 years.
With 17 units totalling 46,000 sq ft, the site will now undergo a £350,000 refurbishment and upgrading programme and will be relaunched as Earlswood Business Park.
As well as refurbishing two units to meet Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards, Asper will shortly be submitting a planning application for three new industrial units extending to 7,250 sq ft in total.
Asper, the investment vehicle of Hagley-based developer Charlie London, will also be creating two new offices.
Ben Truslove, joint managing director of John Truslove, said: “We have acted for the Shephard family for more than 40 years, advising them on their property interests.
“This was another off-market sale secured through a combination of market knowledge, contacts and reputation and maximising our in-house database of interested investors.
“We knew that Charlie London was looking for potential investments in the commercial and industrial sector and when the Shephard family decided to sell Earlswood Trading Estate for the first time in over 100 years, we were able to bring both parties together swiftly to their mutual benefit.”
Charlie London, managing director of Asper Property Group, said: “This was a complex negotiation on a property that has not been traded for over 100 years. Ben Truslove brought us the opportunity in September 2022, and we agreed to proceed with the purchase in November.
“As well as developing two new offices, we will be substantially enhancing the value of Earlswood Business Park through a programme of refurbishment and, subject to planning permission, the construction of three new industrial units.”
The new office and industrial space will be jointly marketed by John Truslove and Birmingham and Black Country agents Siddall Jones.
The park is currently home to long standing tenants such as Laranca Engineering, which runs Laranca Motorsport, a race car preparation team with a winning record in BMW touring cars and single seaters from the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
RMFX supplies prosthetic masks for TV and film productions such as Gangs of London and Emmerdale, and MJ Coles Construction Services is an established commercial building and construction contractor.
Kareem Baig of Newhall Solicitors in Birmingham acted for Asper Property Group and the Shephard family was advised by Lisa Johnson of Bradley Haynes Law in Worcester.
