Vengrove has completed the off-market acquisition of two acres of brownfield development land in Reading for VRE Industrial Partners (VREIP), its UK value-add industrial and logistics strategy.
The site, which formerly served as the HQ for AutoTrader and currently comprises two former office buildings, has been purchased with the benefit of planning for a £16.5m (GDV) mid-box logistics scheme of circa 40,000 sq ft.
The development will aim to take advantage of favourable supply and demand dynamics in the Reading market, where there is an extremely constrained development pipeline.
The transaction is VREIP’s sixth since inception at the start of the year, following purchases in Park Royal, Manchester, Sheffield, Stoke on Trent and Seaham.
Will Hunting, Partner & Head of Investment at Vengrove, commented, “The acquisition of the Reading site marks VREIP’s first ground up development deal and is an example of Vengrove’s capability as a truly vertically integrated fund manager. Utilising our inhouse development and project management team to support the due diligence process and, post-acquisition, managing the development through to PC. Once built, the new unit will provide fantastic balance to VREIP’s portfolio, adding a high-quality unit with strong sustainability credentials, targeting BREEAM Excellent, in a prime Thames Valley location.”
Vengrove was advised on the transaction by Clay Street Property Consultants, Dentons and Nova-Ambiente.