Fiera Real Estate (“FRE UK”) and Wrenbridge are pleased to announce the acquisition of a 2.4-acre site in Crawley consisting of five industrial units which total 56,117 sq.ft. The business plan is to obtain planning for a new 65,000 sq.ft Grade A industrial warehouse development with a GDV of £27m.
The site was purchased through the Fiera Real Estate Opportunity Fund V UK (“FREOF V UK”), the latest fund in FRE UK’s programmatic venture series with CBRE Global Investment Managers (“CBRE IM”).
This is the 16th acquisition for the Fund which reached its final close earlier this year with £180m of capital and is targeting similar sites for industrial development around the UK.
The site benefits from excellent transport connections to London and the South coast and has immediate access to the M23 and M25. Gatwick Airport is located two miles from the scheme and there are two main train stations within two miles of the site, both providing direct access into Central London within one hour. The site is located within the Manor Royal Business District which is the biggest business park of the Gatwick Diamond areas and one of the South East’s premier mixed activity employment hubs.
The new Grade A development can deliver either a single unit or a three-unit scheme up to 65,000 sq ft with up to 12m clear internal eaves, 50kN/sq m floor loading, generous loading doors and rooflights. Sustainability and environmental considerations have been at the forefront of the design of the new development which is targeting BREEAM Excellent and EPC A rating and will offer high efficiency heating and cooling systems, water-saving fixtures and fittings and pv panels will be fixed to all buildings.
Demand for distribution warehouses has remained very robust across the UK, with the South East currently viewed as one of the strongest sub-sectors in the market. The market resilience has resulted in positive rental growth, fuelled by the combination of a demand/supply imbalance and the requirement to be located close to the customer. The new Grade A scheme will help fill the gap in the lack of existing Grade A mid-sized supply in the local area.
Chris Button, Fund Manager of Fiera Real Estate, commented “We are very pleased to be bringing forward yet another high-quality and sustainable scheme alongside our Operating Partner, Wrenbridge. This is the latest acquisition for our value-add Fund, FREOF V UK, which currently has a pipeline of more than 1.4million sq ft of industrial and logistics space. The Fund is targeting similar sites for speculative industrial development around the UK.”
Harry Gibson, Associate Director of Wrenbridge commented “We’re delighted to have bought another site in Crawley and we look forward to delivering this scheme in a market that is lacking in high-quality sustainable units of this size”.
