Clearbell announces £59m of acquisitions

22 February 2022

Logistics portfolio in the East Midlands acquired for £29m; Milton Keynes retail park purchased for £16m from abrdn; St Alban’s office asset bought for £14m from Aviva.

Clearbell UK Strategic Trust (CST), a fund advised by Clearbell Capital today announces the acquisition of three assets for £59m.

The trust has acquired a mixed portfolio of assets located throughout the East Midlands from a private vendor. The portfolio comprises 7 distribution warehouses and 1 office asset. There are plans for refurbishment and ESG improvements across a number of the sites, to take advantage of the demand for Grade A warehouse space in the region.

CST has also acquired Winterhill Retail Park in Milton Keynes from abrdn. The 74,000 sq ft site is a well-established furniture shopping destination near the town centre. It is fully let to six furniture and homewares retailers, including Dunelm, Bensons for Beds and Sofology, with contracted rent of c.£1.5m pa. The asset has been acquired to take advantage of the strength of in-store sales at bulky goods and homewares retailers, which is expected to continue to expand in the coming years.

Finally, a 28,000 sq ft office building in St Albans has been purchased for from Aviva Investors. Churchill House is located in a prominent city centre position, close to St Alban’s Station and Luton Airport, with connections to the M1 and M25. It is currently let to 3 tenants. Asset management initiatives include refurbishing the common areas including the reception, as well as installing four new electric vehicle charging points.

Source: Clearbell