US investor Ardent’s UK business has completed a cash deal to acquire two logistics portfolios and two off-market properties from M7 Real Estate for £55.2m, marking the first acquisition for its UK fund.
The deal comprises 1.4m sq ft altogether, with tenants including Amazon, Eddie Stobart, Optiplan Kitchens and Tempest Brewing Co.
The acquisition includes the 942,323 sq ft Monument portfolio, with a 475,000 sq ft distribution centre let to Eddie Stobart in Workington, Cumbria; a 297,231 sq ft Amazon fulfilment centre in Gourock, Scotland (pictured); and a 170,092 sq ft facility in Barnsley, Yorkshire.
It also contains the 353,213 sq ft Aggregator portfolio, with seven properties in Galashiels, Seaham, Barnsley, Letchworth Garden City, Swindon, Warminster and Tunbridge Wells.
The off-market deals were for two M7 assets in Lancaster (48,413 sq ft) and Milton Keynes (39,634 sq ft).
M7 will continue to be the asset manager for the portfolio.
Additionally, Ardent is understood to have placed Lendlease’s 600,000 sq ft Touchwood shopping centre under offer for around £90m, reflecting a net initial yield of about 10%.
The Solihull shopping centre’s tenants include John Lewis, which operates a four-floor store at the mall.
Former Battersea Power Station deputy head of legal, Richard Benson, and head of phase two, Andrew Hilston, launched Atlanta-based Ardent’s £380m UK investment drive earlier this month.
Ardent Companies UK, which Benson and Hilston oversee as managing directors, comprises a £165m strategic acquisition fund and a £215m debt fund.
As well as growing the industrial portfolio, Ardent is eyeing the build-to-rent, hotel and office sectors, as well as further repositioning and redevelopment opportunities in retail.
Benson said: “The multiple locations and scale of the various assets combined gives us initial critical mass for our UK investment platform, which we are actively seeking to grow.
“Our structure and backing meant we were able to move quickly to bring these assets together within a single fund, against stringent deadlines, giving Ardent significant geographical, operational and management opportunities.”
John Murnaghan, head of UK & Ireland at M7 Real Estate, said the disposals formed part of M7’s strategy to recycle its logistics portfolio “in several funds”.
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