Sterling Property Ventures has acquired a mixed portfolio of seven assets from BlackRock, acting on behalf of British Airways Pension Trustees, in a £236m deal.
The portfolio includes a 330,894 sq ft warehouse in Wakefield let to Cubico; a 231,252 sq ft distribution unit at Interchange 26 in Bradford, let to Advanced Supply Chain Group; two grade-A, fully let office buildings expanding to 89,639 sq ft at Windsor Dials in Berkshire; the 144,906 sq ft Chapel Quarter in Nottingham; the 63,551 sq ft Water’s Edge leisure scheme at Brindleyplace, Birmingham; 74,060 sq ft across three retail warehouses at Longwell Green in Bristol; and the 449,079 sq ft Hempstead Valley shopping centre in Gillingham.
The assets are all freehold or held on long leases and provide a combined income in excess of £18.5m.
The acquisition is Sterling’s second since it set up its asset management and investment arm last autumn. The business acquired Mitchells & Butlers’ Birmingham headquarters from Legal & General earlier this year in a £46m deal.
Sterling managing director James Howarth said: “Our plan is to have a minimum of £1bn of assets under management. Acquiring a property portfolio from British Airways Pensions is a significant stepping stone towards that target. We are seeking high-quality assets, ideally with the opportunity to add value, allowing us to bring our skills to bear. As this latest purchase demonstrates, we are sector-agnostic.”
The seven new assets will be held in Sterling’s SPV Endeavour vehicle, which is backed by equity investor LetterOne.
Acre Capital, Morgan Williams and Capital Real Estate Partners advised BlackRock on the sale; Knight Frank and HP Four acted for Sterling.
Image: Water’s Edge, Brindleyplace © Sterling Property Ventures
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