South Wales-based self-storage company, Storage Giant, has completed the freehold disposal of Estuary Court, a 34,980 sq ft trade counter/industrial estate in Newport, South Wales. The property, located in the established industrial location of Queensway Meadows, was sold to multi-let industrial property company Stenprop for £3.1 million, reflecting a NIY of 7.6%.
Alder King and CBRE acted for Storage Giant while Savills represented Stenprop.
Estuary Court comprises 20 modern units over three terraces and enjoys a consistently high occupancy rate. It is let to 17 tenants including the strong covenants of Clark Foods, Thrifty, Europcar, Rearo Laminates and Halo Foods. The estate has a total net income of £251,493, with good prospects for rental growth.
Built in 2008 to a BREEAM ‘very good’ status, Estuary Court is prominently located on the A4810 with excellent road links to the A48 Spytty Road dual carriageway and Junction 24 of the M4. It is also adjacent to St Modwen’s £1.5 billion mixed use development including its 50,000 sq ft distribution unit for Amazon.
Storage Giant operates a network of 11 self-storage units across South Wales and England, with sites in Newport, Swansea, Cardiff, Cwmbran, Llanelli, Bicester, Kingswinford, Leicester, Cannock and Telford. It is now the second largest private self-storage company in the UK.
Managing director Simon Williams said: “The disposal of this non-core asset takes full advantage of current market demand for industrial property and will allow us to reinvest in other more strategic opportunities. We have a very carefully planned expansion strategy and will be seeking to open new sites across the UK, whether that be through acquisition or organic growth.”
Will Lutton, investment manager at Stenprop, added: “This is the eighth MLI estate we have purchased since we acquired the £130 million Industrials.co.uk portfolio in June 2017 and strengthens further our vision of being the UK’s leading multi-let industrial business.”
James Nicholas, partner at Alder King in Cardiff, says the timing of the disposal ensured a strong sale price. “Demand for good quality industrial stock continues to be strong, buoyed by positive supply/demand dynamics. We’re delighted to deliver such a positive result for Storage Giant, a company which is one of South Wales’s great business success stories.”
Tom Morris of joint agents CBRE in Bristol added: “Estuary Court presented a unique investment opportunity. It is the best multi-let industrial estate in Newport and is well placed to capitalise on growing demand for industrial accommodation as a result of the removal of bridge tolls across the River Severn later this year.”