Yorkshire development company Harworth has snapped up an urban logistics scheme in a £43.7m deal.
The regeneration specialist has completed the acquisition of Catalyst, a 285,000 sq ft estate at Sheffield Business Park, South Yorkshire, in a transaction reflecting a net initial yield of 5.4%. Catalyst, completed last year, is based next to the Rotherham group’s flagship industrial development and major Ƶ manufacturing hub, the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).
As well as serving up an extension to the AMP, the site also has great connectivity as well as access to a large pool of prospective workers for potential tenants. The logistics scheme has five units and is currently 90% let to range of occupiers.
In a stock market announcement to shareholders Harworth said it is confident of securing a letting for the final 28,000 sqft. Once fully let the scheme will generate £2.5m rent each year. It added that the acquisition “provides an opportunity to implement tailored asset management initiatives and deliver additional value across the wider AMP, where Harworth continues to see strong demand from occupiers, and rents have recently exceeded £10 per sqft”.
The acquisition fits in with Harworth’s strategy to grow its investment portfolio to £0.9 billion by the end of 2029 and transition its core portfolio to 100% Grade A by 2027. Following the acquisition, alongside practical completion of a further 73,000 sq.ft of industrial and logistics space at the AMP earlier this month, the group’s investment portfolio will total 2.8m sqft., of which 45% is Grade A.
Lynda Shillaw, chief executive of Harworth, said: “This acquisition, the largest of an Industrial & Logistics investment asset in Harworth’s history, aligns with our strategy to grow our high-quality Investment Portfolio. It also continues our track record of strategic site assembly, providing an opportunity to extend the AMP, further establishing it as one of the leading manufacturing and distribution centres in the region.
“Increased direct development and the retention of Grade A Industrial & Logistics assets across our major sites, supplemented by select, income producing acquisitions, is core to our strategy, whilst we will also look to recycle properties where value has been maximised through completed asset management initiatives.”
