The Crown Estate is working up a potential £120m exit from industrial property as part of a re-focus on its core portfolio.
Tudor Toone and Knight Frank are being lined up to sell its industrial assets, which include a 650,000 sq ft warehouse at Magna Park in Milton Keynes and a £60m regional portfolio of sheds.
The Crown, which is unable to borrow money, is expected to use cash raised from sales to bring forward redevelopment plans for its central London estate.
Plans were submitted earlier this month for a £450m, 340,000 sq ft scheme between Regent Street, W1, and Haymarket, SW1.
A source said: “There is a major investment programme for St James’s, which is part of the core fabric of The Crown Estate. The plan to sell out of sheds is part of a re-focus on that core estate.”
The Crown bought the Milton Keynes shed in March 2007 from a Gazeley and Land Securities joint venture for £72m – a 4.9% yield.
Attempts were made to sell the warehouse earlier this summer, but it has been temporarily held up while the focus shifts to talks with John Lewis over extending its 20-year lease, which was signed in 2008.
Offers of around £60m were sought for the shed. A similar asking price is expected for the regional portfolio, which is likely to be brought to market in the coming weeks.
It is expected to include the 134,000 sq ft Oxonian Industrial Estate in Oxford, the Basildon Industrial Estate and the White Lodge Business Estate in Norwich.
A Crown spokesman said: “Active asset management is an integral part of our long-term strategy, and so we frequently review our holdings.”
Quintain exit
Quintain has appointed Jones Lang LaSalle as it gears up to exit secondary property with the sale of a regional portfolio of 24 offices, shops and sheds. The properties are held in the SeQuel fund and are expected to be marketed for around £46m, reflecting a yield of 13.5%. The 24 properties, known as the Fulcrum portfolio, generate £6.7m pa.
nick.whitten@estatesgazette.com
