SEGRO has sold SEGRO Park Victoria Road in Park Royal, West London to the Imperial College London for £115 million.
The 10-acre urban warehouse estate has been owned by SEGRO since the acquisition of Brixton plc in 2009. SEGRO has actively managed the estate and grown rents significantly since it took ownership, but the age and layout of the estate has meant that the recent strategy has been to secure vacant possession to facilitate redevelopment. Consequently, the estate is 64 per cent occupied and generates rental income of £3.2 million.
Imperial will operate the site to provide commercial science innovation facilities to early-stage companies with interests aligned with the university’s academic mission as part of the ‘WestTech Corridor’, a new globally competitive innovation ecosystem in West London. The site has been identified for future mixed-use development by Imperial’s strategic partners Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and Ealing Council as part of the area’s significant regeneration plans.
Bonnie Minshull, Head of London at SEGRO, said: “SEGRO Park Victoria Road has performed very well for SEGRO over the past decade. This sale to a special purchaser, for the provision of commercial science and innovation facilities, allows us to reinvest the proceeds into our wider London portfolio.
“Imperial’s WestTech Corridor vision is a welcome initiative from a world-leading institution, adding another powerful driver of demand to London’s primary industrial and logistics cluster, in which SEGRO owns approximately 6 million square feet of space.”
Hugh Brady, Imperial President, said: “Imperial College London is investing in its ambitious vision for a new globally competitive deep tech innovation ecosystem in West London. The Imperial WestTech Corridor will act as a powerful engine for investment, inclusive economic growth, and job creation at a local, regional, and national level supported by the Government's emerging Industrial Strategy.”
SEGRO was advised by Montagu Evans and Gowling WLG (UK) LLP. Savills (UK) Ltd acted on Imperial’s behalf as agents and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP acted as Imperial’s legal advisory.