A joint venture between a fund managed by Credit Suisse Asset Management Global Real Estate, industrial developer and asset manager Chancerygate and the international real estate firm Hines has purchased a 23-acre site in Bracknell, Berkshire, currently home to Hewlett Packard Enterprise UK’s headquarters, to speculatively build a 350,000 square-foot business park. The three entities set up the joint venture specifically for the deal.
The purchase is one of the largest land deals within the M4 / M3 corridor this year. Hewlett Packard Enterprise UK will be relocating to a cutting-edge new facility in early 2021.
The proposed business park will be promoted for industrial, warehousing and logistics purposes, as well as bespoke data centre facilities, serving London, the western Home counties and the southeast. It will be initially offered to occupiers on both a leasehold or freehold basis.
A planning application is scheduled to be submitted to Bracknell Forest Council in early 2020. The joint venture is already in discussions with prospective occupiers looking to commission bespoke facilities and is open to discussions for early commitments on a pre-let or pre-sale basis.
Commenting on the deal, Anthony Leonard, head of UK real estate at Credit Suisse, said: “We are delighted to form this joint venture with Chancerygate and Hines. Investing in and developing high quality warehouse space is a key part of our UK strategy.”
Chancerygate managing director, Richard Bains, added: “This is a significant deal which will enable us to deliver much-needed industrial space within the M3/M4 corridor.
“Many larger scale office occupiers whom have traditionally favoured campus style offices in edge of town locations are moving back into city centres.
“This change provides clear commercial opportunities for us to implement our plans to deliver new urban centric logistics facilities and business units to satisfy the high volume of demand we are experiencing for our product. We look forward to delivering this outstanding project with our joint venture partners.”
Chancerygate is the UK’s largest multi-unit industrial developer and asset manager and the only one operating nationwide, with offices in London, Warrington, Birmingham and Milton Keynes. The new Bracknell business park brings its current development pipeline up to 2.6 million square feet across 20 sites spread throughout the UK.
Ross Blair, senior managing director and head of Hines UK, said “This deal is our sixth to date with Chancerygate and presents a great opportunity in a supply constrained market. The scale allows us to deliver a variety of unit sizes to appeal to a wider occupier base. We are delighted to be working with Credit Suisse as we increase the range of our activities in this sector.”
Hines’ industrial and logistics experience spans the development of more than 41 million square feet, the acquisition of 35 million square feet and management of more than 43 million square feet globally. In the UK, the company has built-up an industrial portfolio around two million square feet within the past 12 months.
BNP Paribas and JLL advised the joint venture on the deal and CBRE acted on behalf of the vendor.
