A major site with potential just yards from the runway at Gatwick Airport has been sold in a rapid deal.
The 0.72-acre former Gatwick Coach Centre, including 5,739 sq ft of workshops, was acquired as an investment by DTZ Investors, which owns adjacent land, for an undisclosed sum.
Property consultancy Vail Williams brokered the sale for the Old Brighton Road site, formerly used for airport parking, on behalf of the landlord, a private investor.
Vail Williams also negotiated the surrender of lease by the tenant who no longer needed the property and was then able to sell the freehold asset as a vacant possession site.
The surrender and sale of the tarmac and concrete surfaced secure site with gated access was completed off-market in just six weeks.
Steve Berrett, Vail Williams Partner based in the Crawley office, said: “This was an excellent example of working proactively with different parties and bringing it all together to achieve a great result using market intelligence.
“We were asked to sell the site and work with the tenant on a quick lease surrender. We then identified and approached select potential purchasers, including the neighbours DTZ Investors who were keen to keen to buy.
Jo Jackson, Asset Manager at DTZ Investors, said: “We are delighted to have recently acquired Gatwick Coachworks and to expand our current holdings at Old Brighton Road, Crawley.
“The site is adjacent to our existing ownership and is now available to let. There is strong demand in Crawley for industrial space and we look forward to letting this property shortly.”
The sale is among a series of deals recently completed by Vail Williams’ Gatwick region as it expands commercial activity on the West Sussex coastal strip.
Also sold was 13,763 sq ft industrial warehouse Unit 5 in Commerce Way on established Lancing Business Park which went for £935,000 freehold.
Vail Williams acted for the vendor, medical supplies business Bard Ltd, with the purchaser being a private owner-occupier pension fund relocating from elsewhere on the south coast.
Steve added: “There is a real shortage of freehold commercial opportunities in the coastal strip between Littlehampton and Brighton, particularly around 10,000 sq ft, with demand outstripping supply.”
Newly available as an investment opportunity is the neighbouring 6,793 sq ft Unit 4, Commerce Way, which is guided at £650,000 freehold. Currently occupied by two tenants, potential rental is estimated at £70,000 per annum.
In Horley, near Crawley the 6,777 sq ft warehouse unit Woodside Works in The Close was let on a 10-year lease at £70,000 per annum to a private owner-occupier. Vail Williams acted on behalf of vendors, property company AGE Ltd.
Steve, who joined Vail Williams in February from Sussex-based estate agent Michael Jones, has 20 years’ experience in commercial property.
