Firethorn sells 760,000 sq ft Ellesmere Port scheme 

Cain International has bought the site, billed as the UK’s largest speculative industrial scheme, as part of a £550m portfolio acquisition. 

Firethorn Trust’s 3.25m sq ft logistics portfolio comprises 22 assets across sites in Ellesmere Port, Northampton, Leighton Buzzard, Peterborough, Leeds, Barnsley and South East London. 

At Ellesmere Port, Firethorn recently appointed Winvic to build the 760,000 sq ft Link Logistics Park. Firethorn Trust won approval for the Aew Architects-designed project last year having acquired the 42-acre Port Cheshire from Peel Ports. 

Under the terms of Cain’s acquisition, Firethorn Trust will develop the Ellesmere Port scheme and four others, as well as acting as leasing and asset manager across the portfolio.

“We are delighted to have signed a sale and forward funding agreement with Cain International, a highly regarded global investor that shares our values and is ready to leverage the development opportunities we have created,” said Peter Mather and Chris Webb, founding partners of Firethorn Trust. 

“Firethorn is seeking new sites across the UK to develop big-box, mid-box and last-mile logistics warehousing, and we will continue to deliver to net-zero carbon standards, with ESG credentials remaining a primary focus.” 

Daniel Harris, senior managing director at Cain International said: “This acquisition was a unique off-market opportunity for us to enter the UK logistics market through a portfolio of considerable scale and quality, as well as with a respected long-term partner.  

“This is part of an exciting period of growth for Cain in the UK and follows our recent announcement that we plan to build a portfolio of PBSA assets worth £1.5bn.” 

Stephenson Harwood, PwC, Eastdil Secured and Quartz acted on behalf of Firethorn Trust. 

Taylor Wessing, KPMG, Cushman & Wakefield and Paragon acted on behalf of Cain International.