Clearbell to build up €125m UK office portfolio

Private equity real estate fund manager Clearbell has announced the £13.5 mln (€17 mln) purchase of a 106,200 sq ft (9,850 m2) office complex in Crawley, close to Gatwick Airport, and the launch of a £100 mln platform focused on offices in the South East of the UK.

Clearbell is committing £50 mln of equity to the overall portfolio which, with a loan-to-value ratio of 50%, will give it £100 mln of acquisition firepower.

Clearbell is targeting office assets, which typically require significant asset management, in the £10-20 mln lot size range. The company’s first acquisition is the £13.5 mln purchase of Churchill Court at Manor Royal Business District in Crawley, one of the biggest business parks in the South East and home to more than 500 companies.

Bought from Churchill Court, the current rental income is £1.47 mln per annum with a net initial yield of 10.3%. Clearbell plans an extensive programme of refurbishment after the tenant lease expires, starting with an already vacant office building, with a view to repositioning the office complex.

Performance is also expected to be driven by a ‘ripple effect’ whereby both rental growth and yield compression are now spreading from London towards the wider south-eastern region and strong regional towns and cities, the company added.

'The market is improving for fringe London and south-east offices and we see potential to capitalise on the so-called London ripple effect,' commented Rob West, partner at Clearbell Capital.

Vail Williams advised Clearbell and JLL advised Churchill Court.