Trammell Crow Company (TCC), a leading global developer and investor in commercial real estate, has secured a development loan of £34 million against its site in Sheffield, UK, from the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority (SYPA).

On the 20-acre site on Shepcote Lane, half a mile from Junction 34 of the M1 motorway and in an established industrial and logistics area, TCC will deliver a 367,151 sq ft Grade A logistics facility. The development will feature best-in-class specifications, including 18m clear height and floor loading capacity of 60kN/m2 with jointless concrete slabs. The structure is capable of carrying 100% photovoltaic (PV) roof coverage and base build PV installation, along with electric vehicle charging to car parks and HGV trailer parks. In line with TCC’s standards across Europe, it will feature an EPC A rating and BREEAM ‘Excellent’ certification.

Sheffield is materially undersupplied of Grade A logistics facilities, illustrated by the sub-market vacancy rate of 1.07%. The site formerly contained a facility let to fencing manufacturer Betafence, and before that to Tinsley Wire. The new Class B8 storage and distribution unit is expected to create 450 new jobs, with additional employment opportunities envisaged during the development and construction of the new scheme. Construction is expected to start this month, with completion due in summer 2023.

The lender, SYPA, is the public body responsible for the running of the £10.8bn South Yorkshire Pension Fund, which is a part of the Local Government Pension Scheme. The Fund has around 170,000 members who work for over 600 different organisations, including local councils and academy schools. The Pensions Authority’s £80m local development loans portfolio forms part of its impact allocation which is intended to achieve a wider range of impacts such as job creation while also achieving the return targets that the pension fund needs to make to ensure it can meet its obligations to pay pensions.

Having launched in Europe in 2021, US-based developer TCC now has three sites in the UK (in Sheffield, Milton Keynes and most recently in Heywood near Manchester), as well as ones in Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic.

CBRE and CPP are leasing agents for the scheme.

Richard Fell, Head of European Logistics Capital Markets at Trammell Crow Company, said: “Securing this loan against our Sheffield site is a strong reflection of the quality of the assets that we are developing, and our site-finding capabilities in supply-constrained markets. Benefitting from excellent locations in prime logistics markets, built to the highest quality and sustainability standards that ensures they are best equipped to tackle the challenges and potential regulations of the future, they are strong investment opportunities. We are continuing to see investment appetite from equity and debt investors across our European developments and look forward to continuing to engage with everyone from local investors such as SYPA as well as European and global institutions.”

Councillor John Mounsey, the Chair of the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, said: “It’s a pleasure to have invested our members’ capital in a scheme like Trammell Crow Company’s Sheffield development, providing quality jobs for our community and being developed to high environmental standards. It is rewarding to see the Pensions Authority use its power as an investor to help with a number of developments across South Yorkshire while making the returns we need to pay our members pensions.”