Investec Structured Property Finance (Investec SPF) has agreed to provide a £20m (€26.3) loan facility to extend its Trade City joint venture with Kier Property. The facility will assist in the joint venture’s acquisition and development of an 11.6 acre trade counter and logistics site in Thurrock, Essex.
The developed site will provide 12 trade counter units ranging from 4,000 to 11,000ft² (371 to 1021m²) under the Trade City brand. It is also the first development delivered under the joint venture to include a Logistics City scheme, providing four large logistics and distribution units comprising between 40,000 and 50,000ft² (3,716 and 4,645m²), aimed at ‘last mile logistics’. The site is strategically located in close proximity to London with excellent connectivity, sitting immediately next to key transport routes such as the M25, which has established the area as a key industrial and logistics location.
This is the fifth industrial development delivered by Investec and Kier’s joint venture, which has a combined development value of over £60m (€79m). The first two schemes achieved practical completion in July 2015 and were immediately sold above market valuation. The second two are currently under development in Oxford and Bracknell and are due to complete in March and May 2016 respectively.
Mark Bladon at Investec Structured Property Finance, said: “This deal represents another important step in Investec’s partnership with Kier following the recent success of the Foley Street and Reading joint ventures. There is robust demand for prime industrial and logistics space with excellent connectivity and proximity to major urban locations. The Trade City brand has established a strong track record of delivering this type of space to a range of occupiers and the development of this site in Thurrock is another example of the joint venture’s understanding of future market requirements.”
Both parties seek to capitalise on the strong prevailing institutional demand for new build, well located, industrial product with this deal. The lack of grade-A supply and strong tenant demand, have also seen rental growth and yield contraction, which is anticipated to continue in to 2016.”
Phil Sutton, director of Kier Property, said: “Thurrock is a great addition to our Trade City and Logistics City portfolio and continues to strengthen our relationship with Investec SPF. The two brands complement each other and we have aggressive expansion plans for 2016 in response to the growing demand in both sub-sectors.”
