Crosstree and Bloom kick off new £200m industrial partnership

Crosstree Real Estate Partners and Bloom Developments have joined forces to create a £200m last-mile, industrial and logistics platform. The partners have acquired Fairview Business Centre, a multi-let industrial estate in Hayes, for £30m from A2 Dominion Group.  The estate comprises 106,901 sq ft of industrial space across five buildings, and is 70% occupied by four tenants, including Ford Retail and Direct Link Worldwide. Bloom and Crosstree intend to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of the entire estate and improve its EPC rating from D to a targeted A+ rating. The joint venture aims to create a portfolio of underinvested assets in supply-constrained sub-markets that can be enhanced with sustainability credentials. It will focus on London and the South East, but it is likely to expand to regional cities. Bloom will manage the jv alongside its existing £250m warehouse jv with TPG Angelo Gordon, which has invested in seven assets in central London through a mix of refurbishment and ground-up development projects. Liam Singh, managing director at Crosstree, said: “Fairview Business Centre represents a strong first investment for the venture, and we look forward to bringing forward our plans whilst seeking further similar investment opportunities.” Tom Davies, co-founder and managing partner of Bloom (left), said: “We believe the current environment provides an excellent buying opportunity, with industrial property values having appeared to have bottomed out and now trending upward, and with investor sentiment having improved, as inflation and the cost of capital have reduced.” Sam McGirr, co-founder and managing partner of Bloom (right), added: “Fairview is a fantastic first asset for the joint venture. We have acquired it at below replacement cost. It is located within a large regeneration area, where industrial property is being redeveloped into residential, leading to an undersupply of good quality industrial and logistics space. It is well let with a strong and diverse tenant base but also gives us the opportunity to improve its quality through a refurbishment and installation of sustainable products such as solar panels and EV chargers.” Bloom was advised by Rothschild & Co on the jv equity raise. Bloom and Crosstree were advised by Fidu Property on the acquisition and A2 Dominion was advised by CBRE.