UK fund manager Moorfield has expanded its open-storage JV with real estate investment manager Peloton Real Estate, by acquiring four UK assets for £26 mln (€29.9 mln), reflecting a 13.1% net initial yield.
The portfolio consists of four sites in Newport, Peterborough, Preston and Tewkesbury, all leased to the UK’s largest used vehicle marketplace BCA.
The new acquisitions take Moorfield and Peloton’s portfolio to 50 acres across six sites.
Nick Okell, investment director at Peloton, said: ‘These assets are aligned with our strategy, being in recognised logistics locations close to established urban centres and providing a strong income return profile. We continue to be on the lookout for further acquisitions to add to our rapidly growing portfolio with Moorfield, with a healthy near-term pipeline that will put us within touching distance of our initial target size and provide a solid foundation for future growth.’
Chris Perera, senior investment manager at Moorfield, added: ‘The rapid success of our open-storage joint venture with Peloton, combined with the sector’s compelling fundamentals, give us strong conviction to keep growing the platform. We have a proven track record of institutionalising emerging sectors across the spectrum of alternative and operational real estate and believe we can replicate our success across other asset classes in open storage. Open storage complements our existing strategies in adjacent sectors such as self-storage and urban warehousing, and we remain confident in the long-term performance of the UK industrial and logistics property market.’
Peloton and Moorfield were advised by Savills, Carter Jonas and WBD.
The JV, established in 2022, planned to aggregate an initial £100 mln (€115 mln) portfolio of open storage assets across the UK.
Moorfield is the majority investor, acting on behalf of the Moorfield Real Estate Fund V (MREFV), while Peloton is tasked with identifying acquisitions and site operations.
With a number of sites under offer, the near-term pipeline would expand the JV’s portfolio to 70 acres across 10 sites, with around £90 mln (€103.5 mln) in assets under management.
The JV aims to grow the portfolio beyond the initial target, focusing on a geographically and occupationally diverse portfolio of sites, creating a secure income profile, while adding value through active asset management initiatives.
Moorfield’s open-storage strategy sits alongside its other industrial strategies in urban warehouses and self-storage.
