Sheds veteran John Cutts is closing in on his first two UK industrial deals since he won backing from the US Automobile Association in 2014.
Cutts, through his development firm Mountpark Logistics EU, has paid around £35m for a site in Bardon, Leicestershire in an off-market deal.
The 77-acre site sits just off junction 22 of the M1 opposite the existing Interlink Park.
The land was formerly part of Little Battle Flat Farm and was sold by Paragon (Coalville).
North West Leicestershire council approved plans in November 2014 to build a shed of up to 1m sq ft and one of just over 300,000 sq ft on the site.
A source said: “We can expect big names to be looking at this site, which will be the beachhead for Mountpark to build up a big portfolio very rapidly.”
DTRE and North Rae Sanders have been appointed to market the Leicestershire site, where rents are currently around £5.75 per sq ft.
Cutts’ firm is also close to launching a smaller industrial park development in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Cutts is best known for setting up Kingspark and selling it to Prologis for £100m in 1998.
He also founded Parkridge Holdings, which went into administration in 2010.
The USAA tie-up – the US institution’s first investment outside America – is the latest in a series of ventures into European industrials by North American giants such as Ivanhoé Cambridge, HOOPP, Blackstone, Brookfield and TPG.
USAA has $12bn (£7.bn) under management on behalf of serving US military families.
