Harworth sells business parks for £36m

Towngate Business Park in Widnes and Four Oaks Business Park near Preston have changed hands in deals that represent a blended net yield of 4.7%.

Towngate Business Park, the former Golden Wonder food factory, sits off Everite Road in Widnes. Developer Harworth Group acquired the property in 2021, at which time the estate comprised 262,000 sq ft of industrial space and 3.8 acres of open storage.

Harworth paid £12.7m to former owner Towngate for the park. The developer has now sold the property for £11.2m to an undisclosed buyer. Savills was the agent for Harworth on the transaction, while Freeths provided legals. B8 Real Estate represented the unnamed purchaser.

Simon Wood, director at B8 Real Estate, said: “This is a rare enclosed industrial estate on a significant site of 18 acres that has always had good occupancy levels. It offers my client further opportunities to undertake refurbishment, redevelopment, and asset management in the short and medium term.

“The deal, which was agreed after some competitive bidding, demonstrates the continued appeal of the North West industrial market not only for prime assets but also secondary assets such as this where there remains good occupancy levels, tenant demand, and opportunities for rental and capital growth.”

FDC Holdings will now invest £2m in its Walton Summit headquarters. Credit: via Merrion StrategyFour Oaks Business Park in Walton Summit was sold in two deals representing a combined £24.6m.  The price is nearly double the £13.5m Harworth paid for the business park when it acquired it in 2017 from Moorcot Property.

The first of the two deals saw a 330,000 sq ft shed sold to FDC Holdings for £12.3m.

FDC Holdings currently uses the building as a headquarters, with other units occupied by NRS Healthcare and ECM Print Finishers.

Savills was the agent for the property. Harrison Drury was charged with the legals for FDC Holdings, while Freeths did the same role for Harworth.

Now that it owns its headquarters, FDC said it would invest £2m in building improvements and equipment to help support the 220 staff that work on site. Architect JYM Partnership will assist with the refurbishment.

FDC Holdings chairman Peter Allen described the purchase as “an important step” for the company.

“Owning the building gives us the control we need to invest in more client-facing infrastructure and resources,” Allen said.

“We make a commitment to our clients about service levels and having control of more of the moving parts that allow us to keep that promise is vitally important.”

Harworth asset management director Andrea Morley described the sale to FDC as “the culmination of a successful working relationship between FDC and Harworth over many years”.

She continued: “FDC’s planned investments in this well-located facility demonstrate its growth ambitions, commitment to customer service, and support for the local economy in the North West.”

Four Oaks Business Park was sold in two different deals. Credit: via FTI Consulting

The second Four Oaks deal was a multi-let unit sold to an undisclosed buyer for £12.3m.

Selling Four Oaks Business Park and Towngate Business Park for a combined £35.8m fits Harworth’s strategy to transition its entire investment portfolio to Grade A buildings by 2027. Harworth plans to accomplish this by retaining the buildings it develops and disposing of older properties that have maximised their value.

The sale of the two business parks means that Grade A properties make up 27% of Harworth’s investment portfolio – up from 18% in December.

Reflecting on the sales, Harworth chief executive Lynda Shillaw said: “Last year Harworth directly developed a record amount of sustainable Grade A industrial & logistics space, as we progressed our growth strategy to become a £1bn business by 2027.

“As we retain more of these high-specification units, we have sought to recycle capital from the disposal of older assets where we have maximised value creation through asset management and development works, and our sales at Widnes and Preston demonstrate this pillar of our strategy in action,” she continued.

“These transactions also demonstrate continued demand for high-quality industrial & logistics assets from investors.”