Barwood Capital, on behalf of its Barwood 2017 Property Fund, and British Airways Pension Trustees have partnered on their fourth speculative industrial development with the recent acquisition of land at Manton Lane, Bedford.
Manton Lane is a 12 acre site which has outline planning for 10 industrial units totalling 150,000 sq ft. It has been acquired for £3.5 million from Lou Investments. Speculative development is planned for early 2019 in partnership with development manager Equation Properties. Discussions are well underway with potential occupiers.
British Airways Pension Trustees has also allocated funds to each of the last three Barwood Capital Funds. Most recently, it invested into Barwood Capital’s fourth fund, the Barwood Property 2017 Fund, which closed in March 2018 with the ability to invest in circa £150 million in UK regional property. In addition to this investment, the Bedford deal marks the fourth 50:50 joint venture between the two parties, bringing the combined speculative industrial development to 700,000 sq ft.
The three other joint venture sites are: Junction One, Central Park, Bristol; Portside Park, Avonmouth; and Super G, Glasshoughton in Wakefield, which are either currently under construction or due to complete in 2019.
Ed Henson, director, Barwood Capital said: “We are committed to speculatively developing industrial units in the UK’s regional property market in the right locations as we can see the opportunities for well-built logistics space, meeting tenant demand. We are proud that British Airways Pension Trustees continue to have confidence in us as managers and our ability to source great opportunities. Partnering our 2017 Fund across these four assets means that we are able to diversify our speculative development exposure whilst investing in thriving prime logistics markets.”
Simon Holley, Equation Properties said: “We can see this sector continuing to thrive due to the changes in retail, last-mile logistics and technology, hence our delight in the opportunity to bring forward this development with our funding partners Barwood Capital and British Airways Pension Trustees. Together we will be able to create value and income growth.”
For Manton Lane, Bedford, Equation Properties are the development manager. Avison Young acted on behalf of Barwood Capital Limited and British Airways Pension Trustees Limited.
