Aviva Investors’ Lime Property fund has exchanged contracts to buy a £73.4m “super site” pre-let to aerospace engineering group Meggitt, in what is touted as one of the UK’s largest manufacturing property deals in recent months.
The fund is set to acquire the 490,000 sq ft development, at Prospero Ansty near Coventry, in a long-income investment. It is let to Meggitt on a 30-year lease.
The site is being developed by Manse Opus, a joint venture between Opus Land and Manse, in a project funded by the Lime Property Fund.
The industrial park will be purpose-built for aerospace thermal management technology.
Kris McPhail, fund manager at Aviva Investors, said: “The transaction provides our investors with sustainable, inflation linked income, underpinned by a very strong tenant in a market with solid fundamentals and potential for growth.”
Jonathan Jones, group property director at Meggitt PLC, said: “This was a complex acquisition with multiple stakeholders to manage, our time line was tight and we had to adopt innovative ways to achieve a design build and lease back vehicle to meet our goals.
“With the intention of entering a 30-year lease, choosing the right funding partner for this £100m project was also fundamental to a successful outcome and in Aviva Investors this proved the case.”
Property advisory firm Realest held an advisory role on the deal, while Aviva instructed law firm Pinsent Masons.
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