Chancerygate and Hines’ joint venture has acquired its first two sites, totalling nine acres of land on which it will bring forward the development of 202,000 sq ft of industrial units.
Located in Tonbridge and Cheltenham, both sites acquired by the JV will see speculative development of multi-unit industrial and trade counter schemes.
The deals come just months after the announcement of an equal JV partnership between industrial developer and asset manager Chancerygate and the international real estate firm Hines, with the strategy of developing prime, multi-let industrial and logistics sites.
The 4.11-acre Tonbridge site is located on Vale Road and the proposed scheme will comprise 14 industrial units across 100,000 sq ft. The site is scheduled for occupation in 2020 and is expected to have a GDV in excess of £20m. Pre-let discussions are well advanced. Bracketts acted for Chancerygate and Hines in Tonbridge and DTRE acted for the vendor.
In Cheltenham, the 4.91-acre site at the premier Kingsditch trading estate has been purchased off-market, with KBW acting for the vendor. The JV will speculatively build 15 units totalling 102,000 sq ft, six of which totalling 26,000 sq ft will be trade counter units. The development’s GDV is circa £16m.
Commenting on the JV’s first sites, Chancerygate managing director, Richard Bains, said: “Acquiring these sites is an important milestone in our partnership with Hines – and the first of many more to come. This is a trusted partnership and we’re already reaping the rewards of working together.
“We have a strong track record in identifying well connected, strategic locations, often in areas that have seen a shortage of new industrial schemes, and we’re showing that this approach will also succeed through our JV model. Tonbridge has been woefully undersupplied with good quality developments and our scheme will be the town’s biggest for decades. Likewise, Kingsditch in Cheltenham is a prime destination for retailers and their customers, which fully supports our development strategy. We look forward to making more announcements on further acquisitions soon.”
Established in 1995, Chancerygate is the UK’s leading multi-let industrial property development and asset management company with offices in London, Birmingham, Warrington and Milton Keynes. It has an annual turnover of £97m and employs 37 people.
Chancerygate’s development team has more than 2m sq ft of industrial space under construction or ready for development. In 2018, the company invested more than £41m to acquire 10 sites comprising 37 acres.
Hines senior managing director and UK head, Ross Blair, added: “At the time of establishing our joint venture, we said we would make decisions at speed and grow a pipeline quickly. With these first site purchases, we’ve absolutely done that. Industrial developments are a vital asset class in Hines’ diversification and we’re confident investors will see rewards from the joint venture.”
Hines UK has advised on more than four million sq ft of projects acquired, completed or in the pipeline. The company manages a combined UK commercial property portfolio worth more than £2bn and located in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
