Investec REALIS, the equity strategy launched by Investec last year, has formed a partnership with Wrenbridge to speculatively develop urban logistics assets across Greater London and the South East.
The JV partners have secure three sites, comprising: a vacant film studio production warehouse in Greenwich, which will be redeveloped into a circa 40,000 sq ft single-let unit; a brownfield site in Cambridge to be redeveloped into a 37,000 sq ft mid-box logistics unit; and a a 47% share in the SPV owning the 8-acre Harlow Innovation Park site for a proposed 150,000 sq ft industrial/R&D focused development. The latter scheme will be delivered in partnership with Buccleuch Property.
Yon Papageorgiou, head of real estate equity investments at Investec, said: “Despite Greater London and the South East being Europe’s dominant last-mile ecosystem, competition from higher value use classes has resulted in an acute supply demand imbalance for modern, sustainable urban logistics. In Wrenbridge, we have teamed up with a trusted, long-standing partner and their ability to source three projects at such an attractive entry price is testament to the strength of their relationships and the depth of their local market knowledge.”
Ben Coles, chief executive of Wrenbridge, added: “We are very excited to have teamed up with Investec to deliver three best-in-class sites. The projects located in Greenwich, Cambridge and Harlow will be brought forward on a speculative basis, reflecting our belief in the occupational markets driven by a continued supply and demand imbalance.”
