The Duchy of Lancaster – a private estate owned by Her Majesty The Queen – has paid more than £10.5m for two units on a Merseyside business estate and is seeking further acquisitions to add to its portfolio.
Both warehouses on the Estuary Commerce Park in Speke, totalling 175,000 sq ft of space, are held on long leases and will add another £835,000 annually to the duchy’s coffers.
The marketing specialist, Communisis UK, moved into One Hercules Drive at Estuary Park early in 2007 on a 20-year lease. And at 14 Estuary Banks, the Secretary of State for Health holds a 25-year lease from October, 2003.
Estuary Park has strategic transport links to the M62 motorway, Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Garston Freightliner Rail Terminal. Its long-term occupiers include Johnson Controls, Shops Direct Group, B&M Bargains and DHL International. The park is also in close proximity to Jaguar Land Rover at Halewood.
The head of commercial property at the Duchy of Lancaster, Mike Andrews, admitted: “We have sought to acquire properties where we can secure an attractive return against good covenants from realistic rents.
“The units at Estuary are two well-let, good quality buildings in a recognised location offering high standard working environment at an attractive price,” he added.
Andrews also confirmed the duchy’s long-term urban strategy was to secure strong returns from good quality properties. “We have the capacity for further acquisitions, whether they be similar to these distribution hubs or office spaces in core locations,” he said.
The Liverpool purchases follow last June’s acquisition of two units at Walker Park, a strategic warehouse distribution location in Blackburn, for £10.7m.
Units A and B at Walker Park total 460,000 sq ft and are held freehold. They are currently leased to Michael Davies and Associates Ltd and Sally Salon Services, the world’s largest distributor of professional beauty products with over 4,000 stores worldwide.
“The warehouse distribution sector offers these characteristics with a very favourable outlook for tenant demand created by strong economic growth in the regions and from increasing demands of internet shopping coupled with the lack of supply of good modern buildings.”
The Duchy of Lancaster has control of around 46,000 acres, valued last year at £429m, including key urban developments, historic buildings and farmland across England and Wales. Not surprisingly it has targeted Lancashire for many of its key assets but also owns assets in Yorkshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Lincolnshire. In addition, the duchy owns a substantial commercial property portfolio in the Savoy precinct off the Strand in London.
Previous Post
Birmingham’s Six Eight Kafé heads to Millennium Point
