Rockspring Property Investment Managers LLP has leased, on behalf of the Rockspring UK Value Fund, the 57,000 ft² (approx. 5,300 m²), speculatively refurbished industrial unit at 1 Watkins Close, Burnt Mill Industrial Estate, Basildon, Essex, to Yodel, one of the UK’s leading delivery companies, on a 10-year lease at a stepped rental rising to £6.25 psf in year five.
The unit was one of the assets that made up the Greenridge Portfolio which included 470,000 ft² (approx. 43,663 m²) of warehouse space and 150,000 ft² (approx. 14,000 m²) of office space, and was acquired by the Fund in February 2011, from the Alderley Group for £40 million (approx. €47 million). The unit became vacant in December 2012 at which point the Fund invested £700,000 into the speculative refurbishment of the asset which included a significant upgrade of both the accommodation and yard, and also the creation of an additional Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) entrance to the property which was completed in May 2013.
RUKV was launched in 2009 to take tactical advantage of the significant re-pricing in the UK property market. The closed-ended fund has built a portfolio of retail, office and student accommodation in diverse locations throughout the UK, which is valued in excess of £450 million.
Paul Crosbie, Assistant Director at Rockspring said: “The swift letting of this asset in Basildon to a well-known parcel operator underlines the success of our asset management strategy to refurbish the site in response to the lack of quality space available in the market and buoyant occupier demand for the ‘mid-box size range’. Moreover, this positive result is in line with the overall fund strategy of buying fundamentally well located assets in under supplied markets which lend themselves to improvement through active asset management.”
LSH and SBH acted on behalf of Rockspring. Yodel was represented by Penn Commercial.
Source: FTI Consulting
