US investment manager Angelo Gordon and Trinity Investment Management have closed on the £95m purchase of Mars Pension Fund’s Business Environments for Science and Technology (BEST), a portfolio of five science parks throughout the UK including Hexagon Tower in Manchester, the UK’s only vertical science park.
The portfolio, which covers 348 acres across the five sites, is the largest privately-owned network of science and technology parks in the UK.
Hexagon Tower in Blackley north of central Manchester comprises 168,376 sq ft of office accommodation and specialist laboratory space with 535 parking spaces. The 11-storey property is multi-let to 14 tenants and generates annual rent in excess of £1.5m.
Colliers International provided strategic advice to the Angelo Gordon and Trinity Investment Management joint venture (JV) throughout the acquisition process. Following the completion of the purchase Colliers’ new Life Sciences team alongside its lease advisory experts have been retained to advise on the continued strategic development of the portfolio as the JV seeks to capitalise on the growth in the UK science and technology park sector.
Kaleigh Haeg, Life Sciences Specialist at Colliers International, said: “Whilst science capabilities in the UK have long been recognised as amongst the best in the world, the science parks that house those institutions and businesses have all too often lacked the necessary strategic thinking to support and deliver the limitless potential offered by advancing life science sectors.
“Our aim is to help Angelo Gordon and Trinity Investment Management transform the BEST network into a globally competitive, strategically designed portfolio of science hot beds, where the tenant base of each park is able to support the necessary synergies required for world-class innovation and commercialisation of science.”
The BEST Network consists of Edinburgh Technopole, Hexagon Tower in Manchester, Kent Science Park, Langstone Technology Park in Havant and Wilton Centre in Teesside.
“As proven by the BEST Network purchase, the investment potential offered by UK science parks is beginning to hit the radar of investors internationally. The sector proved very resilient during the recession and is well supported in the future by Government with Chancellor George Osborne outlining continued research and development tax credits and other forms of support in the last Autumn statement,” said Mark Taylor, Head of National Offices, Colliers International.
Colliers International is one of the only commercial real estate advisory firms that offers landlords and occupiers the services of a sector specialist to guide them through the complex life science ecosystem throughout the UK and globally.