January 18, 2022
Fiera Real Estate UK (“FRE UK”) is pleased to announce the sale of its 736,708 sq.ft prime distribution unit in Peterborough to M&G Investments. The asset was sold for £120m, reflecting a net initial yield of 3.2%.
The unit is situated on a site of c.34 acres and comprises a state-of-the-art distribution warehouse, with 16m clear eaves height, a 60m service yard and 500 car parking spaces. The unit has recently been let to Amazon on a new 15-year lease.
The property, formerly Debenhams national distribution centre, became vacant in April 2021 and re-let, firstly under license and subsequently for a 15 year lease following competitive interest from various occupiers through the summer.
The facility, adjoining an existing Amazon facility, is ideally located within a short distance of the A1 Motorway and 2.5 miles from Peterborough City Centre. Peterborough is recognised as one of the UK’s fastest growing cities and benefits from excellent access to the whole of the UK. As a result of its strategic location Peterborough has established itself as a core business hub, quickly becoming the location of choice for growing SMEs and large companies looking for a central distribution location or global headquarters
This represents the final asset sale from UK Real Estate Fund I, an FRE UK separately managed account for Kuwaiti investors, focussed on core investing across distribution, retail warehouse and offices assets. The latest sale is an endorsement of FRE UK’s strategy of buying best in class assets with strong occupier appeal in resilient sectors of the market.
Rupert Sheldon, Head of Core REIM at FRE UK commented “We are delighted to have completed on the sale of this high performing asset which aligns well with the investment parameters of our separately managed account programme.”
Charles Allen, Head of Transactions at FRE UK commented “The sale marks the end of this particular Fund which has seen c.£158m of sales across two assets in Q4 2021. We will be actively looking to re-invest all the capital into core / core plus assets in 2022.”