Rockspring and Clearbell acquire office scheme near Heathrow

Rockspring Property Investment Managers and Clearbell Capital have jointly acquired an office development in Stockley Park near London's Heathrow Airport from Aberdeen Property Trust for an undisclosed amount.

The transaction was carried out through Rockspring's UK Value 2 fund and Clearbell's Property Partners II vehicle.

Full planning permission for the 13,400 m2 office building, known as The Bower, was granted earlier this year and construction is set to commence immediately with completion scheduled for Q3 2016.

Once completed, The Bower will be one of the largest developments in the Thames Valley office market.

Stockley Park is an established business park in the Thames Valley area and is set to benefit from the opening of two nearby Crossrail stations in 2019.

The park is home to the UK headquarters of a number of blue-chip companies. Anchor tenants include Apple, BP, Canon, GlaxoSmithKline and Marks & Spencer.

Richard Bains, fund manager of the UK Value series at Rockspring, said: 'The successful acquisition of The Bower reinforces our strategy to supply high quality, Grade A office space to the South East market, where both occupier demand and rents are stable.'

'This investment is totally aligned with our strategy of exploiting the high-growth commercial real estate market that exists in the South East region,' added Nick Berry, partner at Clearbell Capital.

Fraser Green, asset manager at Aberdeen Property Trust, commented: 'This sale allows us to concentrate more closely on our other developments, notably our speculative office schemes in Hammersmith and on Chancery Lane.'

Exton Estates will act as development manager at The Bower on behalf of the joint venture.

The vendor, Aberdeen Property Trust, was advised by Dowley Turner Real Estate. Knight Frank and Dowley Turner Real Estate will be retained as leasing agents.