4i buys £20m Knowsley warehouses

Prime Property Consultancy’s Acornfield Industrial Park has been snapped up by commercial real estate company 4th Industrial for an undisclosed price.

Construction on Acornfield began in February. At the time, the value of the project was listed as £20m. It is being built speculatively.

The 130,000 sq ft Acornfield sits off Acornfield Road within the Knowsley Industrial Estate. It consists of three units: one that is 53,269 sq ft, another that is 47,453 sq ft and a third that is 31,482 sq ft.

Building Design Northern designed the warehouses, which are expected to complete by the end of this year.

4i’s purchase of Acornfield demonstrates the strength of the Knowsley industrial market, according to Baber Majid, managing director of Prime Property Consultancy.

“Knowsley is a key industrial location and home to some major UK and international businesses,” Majid said.

“The willingness to forward purchase speculative developments such as this demonstrates confidence in the future of Knowsley as an investment and employment location.”

B8 Real Estate and CBRE are joint lettings agents for Acornfield. B8 also advised 4i on the deal.

This is the second industrial purchase in the North West for 4i in the past six months. The company bought the 324,340 sq ft Walker Industrial Estate in Blackburn in December last year. It was understood that 4i paid more than the £27.9m asking price for that property.