Moorfield Logistics Partnership Limited (MLP), a subsidiary of Moorfield Real Estate Fund III (MREFIII), a value-add fund managed by Moorfield Group, has sold a £42.5 million portfolio of distribution warehouses to an institutional investor.
The portfolio is made up of five units in four locations; Rushden, Warrington, Deeside and Huddersfield.
The Rushden units comprise two warehouses totalling 239,644 sq ft let to the retailer, Urban Outfitters; the Warrington unit is a 94,234 sq ft warehouse let to the retailer, Next Group Plc; the Deeside unit is a 162,116 sq ft warehouse let to the paper and packaging manufacturer, Mayr-Melnhof Packaging UK Ltd; and the Huddersfield unit is a 47,666 sq ft industrial unit with offices let to the Council Borough of Kirklees.
Commenting on the disposal on behalf of MREFIII, Charles Ferguson-Davie, Chief Investment Officer, Moorfield, said: “We established the Moorfield Logistics Partnership to target industrial and logistics units with lot sizes of c.£15 million and with short to medium term lease lengths. The ambition remains to build a portfolio of good quality, well located, institutional grade logistics units where we can use our asset management capabilities and experience to bring further value to each asset.
“There is a shortage of good quality industrial and logistics units and strong demand from occupiers for these properties, which is supporting rental growth and yield compression in the sector. The unsolicited offer on the assets was at a level that resulted in the business plan being achieved sooner than anticipated
“These assets that we have just sold were owned by MREFIII and we will now be looking to invest in new opportunities on behalf of Moorfield Real Estate Fund IV (MREFIV), which achieved a first close in October 2017. MREFIV is targeting investments in residential Build to Rent (BTR), student accommodation, logistics, mixed-use projects and infrastructure-led opportunities.”
MLP was represented by Gerald Eve and the purchaser by ACRE Capital Real Estate.
