Logistics disposals continue at Airport City
The Airport City Manchester joint venture has agreed a forward sale of 130,000 sq ft speculative logistics facility, Alpha, to Greater Manchester Pension Fund, one of the JV partners, for £12.2m.
The development is part of the Global Logistics element of Airport City and will offer units from 17,500 sq ft to 35,000 sq ft in a single terrace, with quoting rents of £7.50/sq ft. Businesses will be able to move in from January 2017.
The acquisition was made on behalf of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund by portfolio manager LaSalle Investment Management.
Katie Hynard, asset manager at LaSalle Investment Management, said: “This is an excellent example of the acquisitions that we are making on behalf of GMPF, aligned with their strategy for UK investments. Average industrial enquiry levels for the region have remained stable over recent years and South Manchester has always proven popular for occupiers due to its proximity to strong road and transport links. As a result, the occupational demand for these units is strong given the limited supply of logistical space of this nature.”
The logistics facility is under construction by Beijing Construction Engineering Group International. The Airport City joint venture partners are Manchester Airports Group, BCEGI, Carillion and GMPF.
The sale comes on the back of the disposal of the 37,400 sq ft DHL Global Logistics facility located at Airport City by MAG Property to HPPUT, a fund managed by Helix Property Advisors for £7.68m, or 4.63%.
Construction is also under way on site at Amazon’s 260,000 sq ft warehouse at Global Logistics, which will create over 1,500 jobs, extending to 654,000 sq ft with mezzanines. The building recently sold to German investor Hansainvest for a reported £34.8m, achieving a yield of 4.5%.
CBRE and JLL acted as joint agents for the vendor.
