Oryx Real Estate Partners has acquired a 5-acre logistics site in Milton Keynes from distribution firm WH Barley for its debut UK logistics investment.
The acquisition was undertaken on behalf of Middle Eastern clients of Oryx, including Saudi Arabian family offices.
Oryx and development partner Pembury Real Estate will now bring forward a new 110,000 sq ft speculative urban logistics unit on the site, with a GDV of £25-£30m.
A planning application for the unit has been submitted. Oryx is targeting a BREEAM Excellent and EPC A rating for the development.
Fawaz Sulaiman AlRajhi, chairman of Oryx, said: “After a period of being active in the logistics market, we exited our positions in 2020. Following the correction in land values over the past years and the continued potential of rental growth we believe it is an opportune time to re-enter the market.
“We value the UK real estate market highly due to its landlord-friendly legislation, longstanding international interest and with attractive opportunities arising due to liquidity requirements and growing distress. This sentiment is shared by our clients, and we look forward to continuing serving them across strategies and risk profiles.”
Johan Eriksson, managing partner at Oryx, added: “This acquisition is a deep value play in one of our core investment theses with compelling fundamentals, complimenting the income generation and value-add strategies we are also pursuing on behalf of our investors.
“Increased interest rates and economic headwinds have led to a decline in speculative development for logistics units which means that state-of-the-art, sustainable warehouse product suitable for a range of tenants will continue to command rental growth as operators commit to expanding distribution networks and nearshoring operations. Looking at our pipeline, we expect the near future to be busy given the opportunities available across various UK regions and real estate sectors.”
