Clearbell Property Partners IV, a fund managed by Clearbell Capital, has announced the acquisition of six regional industrial assets from UK property investment firm Palace Capital plc for £34 mln (€40 mln).

The Clearbell portfolio

The Clearbell Portfolio

The price of £109 per ft2 reflects a net initial yield of 6.2%.

The portfolio comprises six industrial and logistics assets located throughout the UK: Coventry, Avonmouth, Newbury, Kettering, Burgess Hill and Verwood.

The 312,000 ft2 (29,000 m2) portfolio generates £2.2 mln per annum and is 97% occupied by several businesses including e-commerce, manufacturers and distributors.

The portfolio will offer asset management opportunities to grow the rents and improve the ESG credentials of the units.

This latest acquisition embodies Clearbell’s long-established strategy of investing in industrial. In November 2016, Clearbell Property Partners II sold its 1.6 million sft2 Nevado portfolio to Blackstone for £125 mln.

This was followed by the sale of the Cara portfolio, an aggregator platform of 22 assets for £120 mln in March 2020 on behalf of Clearbell Property Partners III.

Rob Cole, senior investment manager, Clearbell Capital, said: 'We believe these assets represent good value in the current market, specifically offering us the opportunity to institutionalise and improve the rental tone.

'This will also form the basis of our industrial aggregation strategy for the latest fund.

'Although it has been a turbulent 12 months, the industrial market is showing signs of stabilising and is still supported by strong baseline fundamentals, remaining a key investment theme for us.'

Clearbell was advised by CBRE and Palace Capital was advised by Gerald Eve.