Sterling Property Ventures (Sterling) has acquired a mixed portfolio of seven commercial property assets from BlackRock on behalf of British Airways Pensions Trustees for £236m.
The portfolio comprises two distribution units – the 330,894 sq ft Cubico unit at Calder Park in Wakefield and the 231,252 sq ft Super B unit at Interchange 26 in Bradford, two fully let Grade A office buildings totalling 89,639 sq ft at Windsor Dials in Windsor and the 144,906 sq ft mixed-use Chapel Quarter development in Nottingham, which comprises a 120-bed Premier Inn hotel, offices and five retail and leisure units.
The portfolio also includes the 449,079 sq ft Hempstead Valley retail and leisure scheme in Gillingham, three prime retail warehouses comprising 74,060 sq ft across two sites of six acres in Longwell Green, Bristol, and the 62,551 sq ft Water’s Edge F&B scheme at Brindleyplace in Birmingham (pictured).
The assets, which are freehold or held on long leases and provide a combined income in excess of £18.5m, will be held in Sterling’s SPV Endeavour vehicle, which is backed by equity investor LetterOne.
James Howarth, managing director of Sterling, said: “Our plan is to have a minimum of £1bn of assets under management. Acquiring a property portfolio from British Airways Pensions is a significant stepping stone towards that target. We are seeking high quality assets, ideally with the opportunity to add value, allowing us to bring our skills to bear. As this latest purchase demonstrates, we are sector agnostic.”
BlackRock led the deal on behalf of British Airways Pension Trustees, with joint agents ACRE Capital, Morgan Williams and Capital Real Estate Partners handling the sale.
Sterling was represented by Knight Frank and HP Four LLP. Colliers undertook building surveys and MAPP provided property management advice.
