Fiera Real Estate and the Universities Superannuation Scheme’s (USS) newly created UK-focused industrial platform has acquired two sites.
Fiera said it will develop the two sites in Wimbledon and Bury St Edmunds with Wrenbridge, targeting a combined gross development value exceeding £110m (€126.8m).
The first site, located in the South Wimbledon Business Area and acquired from Schroders, will be developed into four industrial units totalling 116,648sqft. The second acquisition, a 6.44-acre site within the Northern Way Industrial Estate in Bury St Edmunds, will deliver a 156,000sqft mid-box logistics scheme across five units.
Chris Button, head of investment management at Fiera Real Estate, said: “These are high-quality acquisitions which further evidence Fiera Real Estate’s origination and deployment capabilities in a market where price dislocation is still pronounced, and development opportunities can be accessed at an attractive entry point.
”We look forward to building on the momentum in our newly-formed joint venture, where we are actively sourcing similar two-to-20 acre sites across the UK as we look to assemble a market-leading portfolio of small-to-mid box industrial schemes.”
James Feltham, director at Wrenbridge, said: “We are very pleased to have purchased two sites for the newly launched JV. These sites reflect our ongoing thesis of delivering speculative industrial development in key undersupplied locations.
“The acquisition of such a prime site in Wimbledon allows us to access a core urban London location which provides tenants with access to a very strong local demographic.’’
Earlier this month, Fiera Real Estate and USS teamed up to launch the UK-focused industrial platform.
At the time, IPE Real Assets reported that USS is believed to be investing around £500m in the joint venture which has an initial term of five years and is targeting individual acquisitions of up to £50m.
The partnership plans to develop prime small-to-mid-box industrial properties in strategically located urban locations, the partners said.
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