Member Article

Rotherham Royal Mail unit leased for £10.2 million

Sheffield based contractor and developer, JF Finnegan, has sold an industrial unit at Magna 34 Business Park in Rotherham, leased by Royal Mail Group Ltd, to LondonMetric Property PLC for £10.26 million.

JF Finnegan was represented by Commercial Property Partners as agent and DLA Piper as lawyer, with CBRE acting as agent for LondonMetric Property PLC.

Warehouse Unit D01 at Magna 34 Business Park is a high quality industrial unit extending to 152,421 sq ft with ground floor offices and 83 car parking spaces on a 7.72 acre site just 1 mile from Junction 34 of the M1.

The property is let to Royal Mail Group Ltd on a 15 year lease, with fixed uplifts in 2018 and 2023, for the group’s express parcels business, Parcelforce Worldwide.

The unit at Magna 34 is Parcelforce Worldwide’s largest distribution centre in the country outside of the main Coventry hub with 150 staff managing around 90 vehicle deliveries and 12,000 parcel movements each day, which can peak at 25,000 parcel movements in busy periods.

The new depot formed part of a multi-million pound UK-wide expansion programme which was estimated to bring some 115 jobs to Rotherham in a 3-year period.

Gary Smith, managing director of JF Finnegan, said; “The lease to Royal Mail Group PLC confirmed our belief that the quality of product and strategic location on offer at the Magna 34 unit would attract a high profile tenant.

“The subsequent sale to LondonMetric Property PLC concludes the property’s success story and demonstrates that the South Yorkshire region is on the map for investors seeking sound opportunities.”

Roger Haworth, partner at Commercial Property Partners, continues; “This deal is a great result in the current market where there is strong demand for prime, long-let distribution assets with fixed uplifts, let to good covenants. The high profile nature of Royal Mail, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange in October 2013, coupled with the quality of build, proved key in attracting investor interest.”

Parcelforce is rapidly expanding within Unit D01 at Magna 34 Business Park in response to the buoyant home delivery market resulting from internet sales through customers such as Amazon.

Nigel Howard, head of DLA Piper’s Real Estate team in Sheffield, added: “This transaction is a great result for JF Finnegan, a strategic move that will enable it to invest in future growth in our region and beyond. Whilst Magna is a renowned and well-connected business park, the ability to get such a high quality sale over the line certainly reflects an improving market in the city region.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .