Steamrock Capital, the real estate asset management, in joint venture with Catalyst Capital has started construction of a prime retail park in Farnborough, Hampshire, after securing pre-lets for the entire space.
The six units at the park, Horizon, will be occupied by home furnishing and craft retailers, Sofology, Wren, Oak Furnitureland, Harveys, Tapi and Hobbycraft. Lease lengths are typically 10 years and the average rent is £35/ft². Completion of the park is scheduled for September 2017.
Horizon comprises 79,760 ft² of ground and mezzanine space and 228 car parking spaces on a four-acre site. Located on the edge of the town, opposite the existing Solartron Retail Park, Horizon will benefit from sustainable modern construction. The buildings, designed by Black Architecture, will have the BREEAM “Very Good” sustainability rating, utilising robust materials intended to maximise their design life and to minimise maintenance.
The joint venture between Steamrock and Catalyst Capital, the European real estate investment and asset management firm, has been established to acquire small-lot size investments and developments and larger portfolios in the UK, offering the potential for value enhancement through asset management initiatives.
Dan Neary, founder of Steamrock Capital, said: “Horizon shopping park is a great example of what we are about, creating significant value from property that requires a robust and focused business plan. Our ability to both entirely pre-let and commence construction of this asset in such a short timeframe post Brexit is a clear demonstration of our excellent team and occupiers’ continued commitment and confidence in the bulky goods sector.
“We believe that the current market offers an excellent opportunity to further the expansion of our joint venture, and we continue to target individual investments and developments of less than £15m and larger portfolios, where we believe we can utilise our in-house expertise to extract value over the medium term”.
Letting agent for the development was Morgan Williams.
