Savills Investment Management has sold 25 acres of industrial land in London to help de-risk the real estate portfolio of a UK pension fund.
The company said it had sold the development land in Belvedere on behalf of a FTSE 100 corporate pension fund, which had been working in joint venture with developer Panattoni.
The pension fund had secured an outline planning consent to redevelop the site to provide 450,000sqft of new industrial space. The site has been readied for development, but further work is needed to remediate the land.
“The decision to sell matches the pension fund’s medium-term strategy to de-risk its development position and shift the focus of its property allocation to more income generating assets,” said Lucy Winterburn, director of investment at Savills Investment Management.
“Proceeds from the sale will be used in part to fund other direct development projects that are either in hand or planned to take place across a variety of UK sites while also targeting new opportunities.”
The pension fund retains a smaller holding of close to five acres in Belvedere, in the southeast of London, and has consent to develop a further 110,000sqft of industrial space.
Savills, Glenny and DTRE are marketing the retained holding.
