Cordatus Property Trust, a joint venture between CBRE Global Investment Partners and Cordatus Real Estate, has acquired a Selco trade centre unit in south Manchester as its latest addition to the fund.

The trust purchased the unit on Timpson Road from IGP Investments for £3m, reflecting a net initial yield of approximately 6.9%.

The property is described as a modern detached unit comprising approximately 36,328 sq ft with a 50-space car park.

Cordatus said that the acquisition of the long leasehold is in line with its development of a ‘best ideas’ portfolio spanning across the UK. The site trades as a trade counter warehouse for building materials trade and business customers and is let to Selco with close to eight years left on the lease. The lease involves five-yearly rent reviews.

Andrew Murray, asset manager at Cordatus, said: “This is a very well located site with a good tenant in one of the most established estates in south Manchester. The purchase adds another well-let asset with an attractive income stream and good growth prospects to our expanding portfolio and we see a real opportunity here.

“We are continuing to apply proven investment knowledge to deliver above-market returns and are on the lookout for more assets.”

Ereira Mendoza and B8 Real Estate acted for Cordatus. Whitmarsh Holt Young represented the vendor.

Cordatus and CBRE GIP launched the trust in December 2015 with initial funding of £150m. The Trust has now deployed around £178m and continues to seek investments with typical lot sizes of between £3m and £15m.

Acting for Peter Stevens Estates, B8 Real Estate have secured a 66,000 sq ft letting at No1 Trafford Park to Espirit Warehousing for a term of 10 years.

Previously occupied by SIG Insulation, No1. Trafford Park comprises 66,000 sq ft of warehouse and office accommodation over two buildings on a site of 2.87 acres prominently located fronting Westinghouse Road.

Following a full refurbishment, the deal was agreed at a rental of £5.95 per sq ft and sees Espirit Warehousing expanding their bulk storage operations within Trafford Park.

Paul Thorne of B8RE commented:

“The prominent location and nature of the site enabled us to secure a tenant whilst the refurbishment works were ongoing on what is a record rent for refurbished 2^nd hand accommodation in Trafford Park.”

Peter Stevens Estates was advised by B8 Real Estate and JLL. Espirit Warehousing were unrepresented.

 B8 Real Estate, acting on behalf of private clients have disposed of a well let parcel delivery investment in West Bromwich to private clients of Lewis Tucker.

The unit which is located on the busy Middlemore Industrial Estate is let to Geodis for a further 45 years unexpired without breaks.

The investment was purchased at a level of £1.1M reflecting a net initial yield of 6.18%.

Simon Wood of B8 Real Estate who acted on behalf of the vendor commented

‘The purchase shows the continued enthusiasm and appetite for well let industrial properties with asset management angles. We are seeing continued demand from a cross section of investors for the properties we are selling on the back of a very healthy occupational market and opportunities for capital growth in this sector.’

Simon Wood of B8 Real Estate acted for the vendor and Gideon Davies of Lewis Tucker acted for the purchaser

Safety equipment supplier Globus has taken nearly 100,000 sq ft at the speculatively-developed Trafford Point in Manchester, meaning the 240,000 sq ft scheme is now full.

Advised by RGD Consulting, Globus has taken the 98,600 sq ft T2 unit on a 10-year lease at a rent of £6.50/sq ft. The project’s first unit, T1, covers 141,500 sq ft and was let to SIG Trading.

Trafford Point, on Ashburton Road West close to Junction 10 of the M60, was developed by Harbert European Real Estate Fund III and forms part of the fund’s 4.4m sq ft Trafford Park portfolio.

This also includes other new-build schemes including North Point on Mosley Road, and 149,000 sq ft at Heywood Point, where there are also plans to develop a further 500,000 sq ft of industrial and logistics space

CBRE asset manages the portfolio, while B8 Real Estate and DTRE are joint letting agents for Trafford Point.

Howard Hill, director of CBRE’s strategic asset management team in Manchester, said the deal “vindicates the decision to speculatively build new accommodation in the area”.

“The quality of the tenant, the lease term and the new rental tone achieved is testament to the quality of the development and reinforces the level of occupier demand for units in this size bracket,” he said.

An estate of 16 industrial units on the edge of Fenton Industrial Estate in Stoke-on-Trent known as City Park, has been sold by B8RE on behalf of Pears Property for £3.46m with a net initial yield of 7.70%.

The Estate comprises 88,718 sq ft of accommodation, which is fully let to 18 occupiers and has a number of long-standing tenants, largely due to its convenient location near to the region’s key arterial transport routes. Agreed rents on recently renewed lease terms achieved up to £4.00 per sq ft, showing an average increase of 38%.

The property was purchased by Sandyford Properties who are managing a programme of refurbishment works at the estate.

John Burrows of B8 Real Estate commented: “The estate has a proven track record, with an excellent tenant retention rate and improving rental levels.

“The strong level of interest generated by this sale demonstrates significant investor demand for secondary multi-let estates which offer the ability to further enhance value through a refurbishment programme.’

Sandyford Propeties were represented by Adam Wildig at GVA, who commented: “The shortage of quality industrial space in the market has been well documented in the media and North Staffordshire in particular, has seen high demand from occupiers in recent years.

“The purchase of City Park demonstrates Sandyford Properties’ continued targeting of quality multi-let industrial assets. Given the low site coverage, the estate offers a range of asset management opportunities which will only be enhanced further on completion of the refurbishment and development programme.”

Pears Property were represented by B8RE and Colliers International.

Sandyford Properties were represented by GVA.