Barings has agreed to forward fund a £42.5 mln (€47 mln) logistics warehouse development with Panattoni in Bolton, Greater Manchester, UK, on behalf of a core investment strategy.
The project is being delivered on Wingates Industrial Estate, an established logistics and light industrial location, and once completed will comprise 358,500 sq ft (33,300 m2) of new Grade A space across two units.
The first unit of 77,800 sq ft has already been pre-let to delivery company, Hermes Parcelnet, on a 15-year lease and will be used as a parcel depot. The second and larger property offers 280,700 sq ft and will be developed speculatively. The entire project is expected to achieve BREEAM “Very Good” certification.
‘The UK is one of Europe’s most developed online retail markets and the last few months of lockdown have highlighted the resilience and importance of logistics real estate. Demand looks set to continue growing as a result of Covid-19 which has expedited the shift to online. The pre-letting of one unit to Hermes has de-risked an element of the project and with a strong degree of occupier interest in the second unit already, we believe this development is well placed to capture the demand for Grade A stock in prime locations in the north west of England,’ said Darren Hutchinson, managing director, head of UK Real Estate Transactions at Barings.
Gunther Deutsch, managing director, and head of Real Estate Transactions – Europe at Barings, said that Barings has invested around €300 mln in the logistics sector this year. ‘With another seven transactions under exclusivity, we expect another strong year for Barings Europe, matching our 2019 logistics acquisition volume of €600 mln. Our logistics appetite for 2021 is still very strong and we continue to target acquisitions in the Nordics; the Netherlands; Germany; the UK; Italy; France; and Iberia, with an investment target of €950 mln.’
Barings was advised by Knight Frank and CMS.
