Harris Lamb has been tasked with managing a further two industrial mixed use properties from the Industrials UK LP venture, having been awarded six new projects in as many months.
Last year the business was appointed as property management partners in the Midlands for the £100m-strong multi-let industrial portfolio platform established between Morgan Stanley and C2 Capital.
Shirley Greenlees, of Harris Lamb’s property management team, said: “This portfolio has huge potential and has been expanding rapidly over the past 12 months. As a business, we’ve been involved from the onset, helping to establish the platform by providing specialist market and property management knowledge to help it grow.
“In the past six months alone, we’ve been charged with overseeing four mixed use sites in Aston, with our two latest additions being a business park in Thatcham, Newbury and another in Great Horwood in Milton Keynes. Investment opportunities within the region are thriving at present, and our client is recognising and acting on them quickly to grow the property portfolio.
The Rating and Investment teams are also heavily involved, with the Rating team managing the void business rate charges for the portfolio across the whole of the UK, and Investment specialists, led by Peter Wood, who secured the first three multi-let estates for the portfolio in February last year.
“We’re delighted to be working so closely with such an ambitious and proactive investment fund at such an exciting time for the region, and anticipate that the number of properties we are involved with, will continue to grow,” she said.
“Right now, the regional market has plenty of opportunity, and Harris Lamb’s specialist knowledge and market coverage within the Midlands is helping the UK industrial platform to flourish – we’re anticipating 2016 to be a huge year for the venture,” she said.
Simon Ross, Asset Manager for Industrials UK LP, said: “The acquisition of the Aston properties, coupled with more recent acquisitions in Thatcham and Milton Keynes has enhanced the Industrials portfolio by securing functional and well-configured industrial stock in strategic locations north of Birmingham City centre and along the key arterial routes of the M1 and M4 corridors.
“With an industrial portfolio now standing in excess of £100 million that is comprised of over 1.7 million square feet, Harris Lamb continues to offer a broad spectrum of property services to ensure continued growth and smooth operation of the estates it manages on our behalf”.
C2 Capital, a fund management house established by Julian Carey in 2009, led the activities of Industrials UK LP, initially as an external asset manager, with a view to growing it into a standalone business in due course.
The intention of the company is to grow into a £500m UK-wide multi-let industrial platform, with a focus on acquiring individual estates and portfolios from £2m and above.
