Clarion Partners Europe, the real estate investment fund manager specialising in logistics and industrial assets, has acquired a modern warehouse in Coventry from BlackRock’s UK Property Fund for £28.3m (€32.9m).
The deal represents the first investment on behalf of Clarion Partners Europe’s core-plus, closed-ended UK logistics fund, which last month achieved a final close with £427m of equity commitments.
Located on Middlemarch Business Park, an established Golden Triangle distribution hub, the 208,000sqft property is leased to an online pet supplies and accessories retailer on a 10-year lease with more than four years remaining.
The BREEAM Very Good certified property is just 5km from Coventry city centre and is accessible to Coventry airport and with 85% of the UK’s population accessible within a 4.5-hour HGV drive time via the nearby M6, M69, M45 and M40 junctions.
The fund is Clarion Partners Europe’s first to solely focus on the UK, a market it recently re-entered following a seven-year break. It aims to target high-quality, ESG-compliant logistics assets underpinned by strong rental growth fundamentals in established UK logistics hubs.
Matthew Tatlock, vice president at Clarion Partners Europe, said: “This is a rare opportunity to acquire a grade-A logistics property with immediate reversionary potential. The West Midlands is one of our high conviction regions, where strong occupier sentiment is underpinning robust future rental growth prospects.”
Rory Buck, managing director at Clarion Partners Europe, added that the UK-focused logistics fund was seeking to acquire “newly developed, sustainable and high-quality logistics assets leased to strong counterparties in locations benefiting from limited supply and upward pressure on rents”.
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