Korean capital has backed two sizable regional warehouse investments in the UK over the last few weeks.
In the latest deal, Knight Frank Investment Management acquired a property occupied by BAE Systems, the defence and aerospace group, in the English town of Crewe, on behalf of Korean institutional investors.
The investment volume for the 32,500 m2 property at Radway Green, Alsager came to £56 mln (€64 mln). The vendor was Manchester-based Crewe Assets, which had acquired the warehouse for £41 mln in 2011.
Kevin Aitchison, CEO at KFIM, said that this was the first transaction stemming from a strategic decision several years ago to seek new partnerships with the Korean institutional market.
The transaction comes four weeks after a consortium of South Korean institutional investors acquired the freehold of a processing and warehousing facility, dubbed Accolade Park, near Bristol, for £62 mln.
Investors CSUK1 Holdings Limited and CSUK1 Investments Limited secured a £31m (€37 mln) loan for the Accolade Park deal from PGIM Real Estate Finance. The investment volume reflected a net initial yield of 6.5%. The vendor was global geotechnical contractor Keller Group.
