Landlord Segro banks £200m from sale of industrial estates
LANDLORD Segro yesterday announced the sale of four industrial sites in the Midlands and Greater Manchester for a total of £204.5m, as part of a strategy to focus on core assets in London and the south east.
A fund managed by US firm Harbert Management Corporation has agreed to buy two multi-let industrial estates in Birmingham, as well as sites in Rochdale and Manchester.
“In the year to date, assuming the completion of this transaction, we have announced non-core asset disposals of £377m, with further disposals expected during the remainder of the year,” said Phil Redding, Segro’s chief investment officer.
“This latest announcement is another important step forward in the process of re-shaping our portfolio to focus on core markets.”
The sale proceeds represent a small discount of 2.9 per cent on the sites’ book value at the end of 2011, while completion of the deal remains contingent on confirmation of the purchaser’s lending agreement.
Following the disposal of the 440,000 sq metre sites Segro will close its two regional offices in Manchester and Birmingham.
Jones Lang LaSalle’s industrial and logistics team, led by Philip Marsden, advised on the deal as part of its involvement in Segro’s £1.6bn disposal programme.
Shares in Segro edged up by just 0.14 per cent to 217.10p on the news.