JR Capital and Chancerygate’s joint €110.3m (£100m) UK multi-let industrial sector investment fund has made its first two acquisitions for a total of €11.6m (£10.54m). Completed within two months of each other following the fund’s first close in May, the sites are located in Brunswick, Tyne and Wear, and Wollaston, Northamptonshire. Together, they comprise 13 acres and almost 200,000ft² of multi-unit industrial buildings. The first close raised €27.6m (£25m) of equity giving the fund an immediate €55.2m (£50m) to deploy. The second round of capital will be raised before the year-end.
Acquired for €3.6m (£3.3m), Brunswick Park totals 71,700ft² and is a nine-unit development located around five miles north of Newcastle city centre, in close proximity to Newcastle Airport. The vendor was Litton Property Group, which owned the property since 2003. The site is 90% let, with occupiers including pipeline inspection device manufacturer Rosen and pharmaceutical, medical and healthcare distributor and wholesaler Alliance Healthcare.
Purchased for €8m (£7.24m), Wollaston Industrial Park is a 14-unit industrial estate across 127,550ft² located four-and-a-half miles south of Wellingborough and 15 miles west of Northampton. The estate is fully let, with occupiers including the Salvation Army Trading Company, Dr Martens’ holding company Airwave International, Aston Martin, and drum manufacturer O’Neill.
Commenting on the fund’s first acquisitions, Chancerygate head of asset management, Rory Finnan, said: “These first two acquisitions signal a strong start to the investment of our joint fund with JR Capital. The assets both offer good real estate fundamentals, strong income and the ability to add value in the medium term. We are already on-site refurbishing vacant space at Brunswick Park as we look to optimise the real estate to provide best value for occupiers and return for funders. Brunswick and Wollaston will both benefit from this approach as we look to invest and improve facilities.’’
JR Capital head of investment, Michael Ferris, added: “Brunswick Park and Wollaston Industrial Park are ideally suited to the fund as they offer secure and well-diversified income from a broad range of occupiers, coupled with the potential for us to add value. We are delighted to have closed two deal in quick succession over the summer and we expect to deploy a further €55.2m (£50m) over the next three to six months. Chancerygate’s in-house integrated team, combined with JR Capital’s investment expertise and access to capital, provides the fund with a competitive advantage. While other investors are sitting on their hands awaiting news on Brexit, we see it as buying opportunity, coupled with the weak sterling and will remain active.”
