Centurion acquires €34m Midlands business park

UK property company Centurion Properties has acquired the Bretby business park in the Midlands, UK for over £25 mln (€34 mln).

Bretby Business Park comprises 320,000 sq ft (29,730 m2) of office, laboratory, industrial and warehouse space. It is home to more than 60 businesses, employing around 2,000 people.

Centurion has acquired the park from a joint venture between TIAA Henderson Real Estate (TH Real Estate) and Centurion through a new wholly-owned vehicle.

Advised by JLL, Centurion part financed the acquisition with a senior debt facility from AgFe and a mezzanine facility from ICG-Longbow. The price reflects a net initial yield of more than 8%.

TH Real Estate and Centurion originally bought the Park in 2005 for £7 mln. At the time of purchase nearly a third of the space was vacant and many tenants were operating on licence agreements. As a result of its asset management initiatives and a £7 mln capital expenditure programme, Centurion has reduced the vacancy rate from 30% to 7%, and increased the net rental income by 600%.

'The acquisition of Bretby marks a significant step in Centurion’s evolution,' commented Julian Rooth, founder and CEO of Centurion. 'It will provide strong, sustainable cashflow, which will underpin Centurion’s growth. We are also confident that there are further opportunities to enhance the rental income over the next few years.'

Savills and GBR Phoenix Beard advised the two parties in the transaction.