Tristan Capital Partners has acquired two UK port development sites for its latest value-add/opportunistic fund.

The European real estate investment manager’s European Property Investors Special Opportunities (EPISO) 5 fund invested an unspecified amount to acquire two port development sites in Colchester and Birkenhead with Tungsten Properties to deliver two logistics schemes.

Tungsten will act as EPISO 5’s operating partner and development manager.

The scheme in Colchester – EPISO 5’s first logistics asset in the South East – will comprise 11 mid-box units, while the 22-acre Ark Royal site in Birkenhead offers a single, big box unit and will also provide 11 acres of open storage accommodation. Combined, the projects are expected to provide a total of around 855,000sqft of logistics space.

Nicho Jenkins, managing director at Tristan Capital Partners, said: “The land price coupled with the underlying occupational dynamics and the opportunity to work with a best-in-class development partner makes developing these schemes an attractive proposition for the fund.

“We continue to see strong occupier demand for the highest quality logistics assets, with exceptional ESG credentials, across our portfolio. It follows that these projects reflect a continuation of our strategy to create value for our investors by developing such assets.”

Jeff Penman, managing director, Tungsten Properties, said: “Tristan Capital’s investment into building these two important industrial schemes shows that we are responding to significant demand for such space in their respective ports to enable increased global commerce.”

Penman said Ark Royal will be one of the largest new-build warehouses in the north-west of England and addresses the dearth of 500,000 sqft units in the region.

To read the latest edition of the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.