Real estate manager Feldberg Capital has joined forces with Henry Boot to launch a UK-focused mid-box industrial and logistics platform.
Feldberg will own 75% of the Origin joint venture, which has an initial development portfolio valued at £100m (€121m). HBD, Henry Boot’s property investment and development arm, will own the remaining 25%.
The initial projects include: Spark, a 13-acre site in Walsall for a 270,000sqft, phase-one industrial project; Inter, a three-acre site in Welwyn Garden City for a 71,000sqft scheme; and Ark, a nine-acre site in Markham Vale for 107,000sqft of industrial space. Construction on all three sites is expected to start in the first half of 2025, with completion scheduled for the second half of the same year.
HBD will act as the development manager for a fee, while Feldberg will be the investment manager.
The companies said Origin plans to utilise HBD’s existing development pipeline and acquire additional sites from third parties to support a mix of pre-let and speculative industrial and logistics projects. Origin aims to deliver around £1bn worth of industrial and logistics schemes across the UK within the next seven years.
Tim Roberts, CEO at Henry Boot, said: “The launch of this new industrial and logistics platform with Feldberg Capital is an important transaction for Henry Boot, allowing us to partner with a first-class international investor with the funds and ambition to invest alongside us into one of our key sectors.
“At the same time, it enables us to accelerate our own £1.3bn industrial and logistics pipeline and in turn recycle capital more efficiently. We now look forward to fulfilling our significant ambitions for Origin alongside the team at Feldberg.”
David Turner, managing partner at Feldberg Capital, said: “Having held back from the industrial and logistics market while assets looked overpriced, we believe now is a highly attractive entry point, with land values having come down over the last 24 months and entry yields being at more sustainable levels.
“The positive tailwinds within the sector remain, driven by structural trends including the continued growth of e-commerce and more firms serving the UK market looking to ‘onshore’ their production here in the face of a shifting regulatory and geopolitical backdrop.”
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