Schroders Capital’s real estate team, acting on behalf of Greater Manchester Pension Fund (“GMPF”), has successfully completed the off-market acquisition of Brackmills Central Industrial Estate in Northampton from M&G Real Estate for £35 million, reflecting a capital value of £128 per sq ft.

The 272,000 sq ft estate comprises 31 units ranging from 3,000 to 20,000 sq ft in size, on a 19-acre site, and has the potential to benefit from a significant number of lease events over the forthcoming 36 months. With approximately 40% of the income contracted outside the Landlord and Tenant Act (1954), there are multiple opportunities to capture sustained, income-driven performance, whilst capturing the reversionary potential[1] of the asset over the short to medium term, which is underpinned by an acute lack of supply across all size bands and grades of stock in the Northampton market.

Schroders Capital intends to leverage its in-house operational expertise to carry out a rolling refurbishment programme to decarbonise and modernise the asset in keeping with GMPF’s wider environmental, social and governance strategy.

Philip Scott, Fund Manager and Head of Manchester at Schroders Capital, commented: “The acquisition of Brackmills Central aligns with GMPF’s strategy to opportunistically acquire higher yielding and larger lot size assets, in high conviction sectors that offer the potential for income focused returns by implementing deliverable asset management strategies.”

Matt Good, Lead Asset Manager at Schroders Capital added: “The East Midlands is considered a key industrial and logistics hub offering access to much of the UK consumer market within a six-hour drive. Supply-demand dynamics are favourable, and we are well positioned to manage Brackmills Central on behalf of our client GMPF, where we will implement a business plan focussing on decarbonisation and sustained income growth.”

Schroders Capital was represented by Gerald Eve and DLA Piper, while Stonehill Partners and Pinsent Masons acted on behalf of M&G Real Estate.