Ballymore first class in SW8
Ballymore is in pole position to purchase the Royal Mail’s distribution centre site in Nine Elms, SW8. The South London Mail Centre, which closed in 2012, was valued at £662m in 2014. It covers 14 acres near Battersea Power Station and has consent for 1,870 homes. Savills and Rothschild advised.
LJ bags Albert Square quartet
LJ Group has bought a portfolio of four buildings in Manchester’s Albert Square from Wrather Group for £16.3m. The 70,000 sq ft largely vacant blocks date back to 1874 and represent LJ Group’s first office purchase outside of London. An extensive refurbishment is planned. Knight Frank advised Wrather Group; JLL acted for LJ Group.
Benchmark shed yield in MK
Standard Life has completed its £86m deal to forward fund John Lewis’s 638,000 sq ft MP3 distribution centre at Magna Park in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. IDI Gazeley sold the 638,000 sq ft shed, which is let on a 25-year lease, for a record yield of 4.2%. Savills represented IDI Gazeley; Gerald Eve acted for Standard Life.
Ediston buys Midlands retail
Ediston Property Investment Company has bought Abbey retail park in Daventry, Northamptonshire, from Threadneedle for £12m – a 7.5% yield. The 58,778 sq ft park is let to Homebase, Pets at Home and Halfords. Staunton Whiteman advised Ediston Real Estate; Threadneedle was unrepresented.
Tritax makes Sideways move
Tritax Big Box REIT has bought a 526,426 sq ft warehouse site on Prologis Park Sideway, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The firm will forward fund the new shed, prelet to soft furnishings retailer Dunelm, for £43.4m – a 5.47% yield. Dowley Turner Real Estate represented Tritax; JLL represented the vendor.
