Family-owned Wilton Developments has sold its Latitude 135 distribution hub in a £9.3m deal — just days after a Scottish logistics company signed a ten-year lease on the 135,000 sq ft warehouse.
Located within Latitude Park, an extension of Wakefield Europort, the building was designed and developed to Wilton’s own specifications. It has been acquired by the real estate investment management firm, Mayfair Capital.
Ben Hall, investment director at GVA which acted for the purchaser, said: “Mayfair Capital is an active investor in the Yorkshire market, following its acquisition of the Albion Place retail development in Skipton earlier this year.
“With a shortage of quality industrial stock on the market, assets such as Latitude 135 are in high demand and it is pleasing to see further inward investment into the Yorkshire region.”
Just yards from Junction 31 of the M62 motorway, both Latitude Park and the wider Europort have become major attractions for logistics companies and retailers needing Yorkshire bases to feed their north of England networks. Established tenants include Asda, Argos, DHL and TK Maxx.
“The recent letting to Malcolm Group demonstrated the positive profile Latitute 135 has in the market and to follow this up with a sale to Mayfair Capital is extremely satisfying,” commented Wilton Developments’ managing director, Jason Stowe.
Headquartered in Scotland, the Malcolm Group provides logistics services — through its subsidiaries Malcolm Logistics and Malcolm Rail — as well as warehousing and terminal management across the UK. The leasing of Latitude 135 gives the company its first permanent base in Yorkshire and represents a significant investment in the region.
“We always felt that Latitude 135 had all the right components to attract inward investment into West Yorkshire and to have secured a ten-year lease to such a respected logistics operation is an excellent result,” explained Jason Stowe, managing director at Wilton Developments.
The Malcolm Group’s new southern base includes a 131,109 sq ft warehouse with 4,153 sq ft of offices. Wilton Developments also owns an adjacent four-acre plot which could accommodate an additional building of around 60,000 sq ft.
Mike Baugh, a senior director at industrial agents CBRE’s Leeds office, claimed the letting was one of the largest industrial transactions to complete within West Yorkshire during 2014. “It signals incredibly positive news for the regional logistics sector,” he added.
“High take-up levels during 2013 led to a shortage of quality, ready-to-occupy stock and as a result, units such as Latitude 135 have been in high demand.”
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