A Midlands law firm has played an important role in bringing a major new development to Bristol.
Lodders Solicitors advised IM Properties, one of the UK’s largest privately owned property companies, on the sale of a site in the city – destined for a new outlet by self-storage company Lok’nStore Group.
The deal was for a 0.9-acre site at Longwell Green Trade Park.
Lodders has a long standing business relationship with Coleshill-headquartered IM Properties and partner Paul Mourton advised the company on this transaction.
Once open, it will be Lok’nStore’s 26th facility.
It already has planning approval for a 50,000 sq ft facility. The £4 million project is set to create a significant number of new jobs.
Andrew Jacobs, chief executive of Lok’nStore, said: “We’re pleased to announce the acquisition of this well located site in Bristol.
“This is a key part of our strategy and adds a further site to our store development programme. The news comes at an exciting time for Lok’nStore as we are currently in an expansion phase building out our existing site pipeline, and this adds a further site to our portfolio.
“We have recently opened a new store in Maidenhead and the Bristol site is likely to be built after the completion of this year’s new store programme which includes sites in Reading, Southampton and Aldershot.”
Mr Mourton, a Lodders partner, said: “This is a significant investment on a very popular complex.
“We have worked with IM Properties on many projects and I am pleased to be able to play a part in this deal coming to fruition.”
Lok’nStore builds, buys or leases large warehouses or industrial buildings and rents storage units to customers on a weekly basis. Around 60 per cent of the company’s 7,000 customers are residential and 40 per cent commercial.
Lok’nStore has more than 920,000 sq ft of net rentable space, which is evenly split between freehold and leasehold.
Longwell Green Trade Park was completed in 2012 and is already home to Screwfix, Halfords Autocentres and Toolstation. It is adjacent to a strong retail location with occupiers including Homebase, B&Q, Marks & Spencer, Next and Boots.
Located off the A4147 Avon Ring Road, the trade park is just five miles from Bristol city centre and has strong connections to the national motorway network through Junction 1 of the M32 and Junction 19 of the M4.
It is reckoned that within a 15 minute drive time there is a population of 324,417 across 123,288 households.
IM Properties has an investment and development portfolio of around £1 billion across the UK, Europe and the US, spanning the industrial, retail, office and residential sectors.
