Patrick Properties buys in Scotland and Yorkshire

Patrick Properties, the industrial specialist developer and investor based in Wilmslow, has completed two acquisitions totalling more than £23m.

The firm has acquired a 220,000 sq ft unit from BMW Pension Fund in Europort, Wakefield for £10.6m, reflecting a net initial yield of 8.4%. The building is let to the Royal Mail with a further 11 years remaining on its existing lease.

The second deal was for a Sainsbury's 220,000 sq ft chilled and ambient distribution facility in East Kilbride, Scotland. Patrick agreed a deal with former owners, AVIVA (formerly Norwich Union) at £12.9m, reflecting a net initial yield of 8%. Sainsbury's, which uses the unit to service the whole of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England, has a further 14.5 years left on its existing lease.

Andrew Dickman, managing director of Patrick Properties, commented: "Despite the economic gloom, we believe that there are deals to be done and are adopting a strict policy to acquire similar properties over the coming 12 months as part of our ongoing long term investment strategy.

"We have been actively looking for food, healthcare and government occupied buildings, which tend to be more 'recession proof' as well as local businesses backed by people we understand. We are currently considering a number of other very interesting potential deals and intend to continue to add to our expanding portfolio in the coming months."

Knight Frank acted on behalf of BMW Pension Fund.