A portfolio of seven fully-let units totalling 55,780 sq ft on Crow Lane Industrial Park in Northampton has been acquired by a £150m multi-let urban logistics investment fund.
Managed by property investment company JR Capital and asset manager Chancerygate, the fund has acquired the industrial estate from asset management company Columbia Threadneedle Investments. All values relating to the transaction are undisclosed.
Crow Lane Industrial Park is situated three miles east of Northampton town centre on Hartburn Close and benefits from quick links to the A45 dual carriageway, M1 and A14 (A1/M1 link).
The seven units range from 3,225 sq ft to 28,665 sq ft. Current occupiers include building materials supplier Wolseley UK, independent electrical wholesaler Midshires Electrical and Lighting and frozen and chilled food same day delivery service Route 1 Fulfilment.
Commenting on the acquisition, Chancerygate asset management director, George Jerram, said: “Our investment in Northampton is indicative of the confidence we have in the local market for urban logistics property. It is an excellent fit for our investment and asset management strategy.
“Demand for urban logistics accommodation remains strong both regionally and nationally. Crow Lane presented us with a great opportunity to enhance the geographical spread of our portfolio with an established asset in an excellent location.
“We are active asset managers and will be looking to further enhance the site for the benefit of our occupiers and investors.”
JR Capital and Chancerygate’s £150m fund has a five-year life and is targeting industrial, warehousing and urban logistics investments across the UK in lot sizes of £5m to £15m.
The partners’ first fund, which totalled £100m, secured 18 assets ranging from Dundee to Exeter over a two-year period. The assets comprised 150 units totalling more than one million sq ft.
JR Capital’s head of investment, Michael Ferris commented: “We are pleased to have completed on the second acquisition for the new fund.
“Crow Lane Industrial Park is well located in Northampton and will provide the fund with a well-diversified income stream and opportunities to add value in the near term.
“We remain extremely bullish on the UK multi-let industrial sector due to the favourable macroeconomic fundamentals and the recent adjustments to pricing has created a buying opportunity for us.
“We expect to be active over the course of this year as we continue to scale our platform with Chancerygate to more than £200m.”
Founded in 1995, Chancerygate is the UK’s largest urban logistics property developer and asset manager and the only one operating nationwide.
The company currently manages in excess of £385m of assets across more than five million sq ft of commercial space in over 480 units.
London-based JR Capital is a multi-family office business with a focus on UK and European real estate. The business provides a platform for its Middle East-based private and institutional investor base principally from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai and Kuwait to co-invest into both UK and European real estate via funds and segregated mandates.
Established in 2005 by John Collier-Wright, JR Capital has concluded over £2bn of transactions across all major sectors.
Allsop acted on behalf of Chancerygate and JR Capital, while Collingwood Rigby acted for Columbia Threadneedle Investments.
