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There was hard evidence of the building momentum in the commercial property market today, when Segro announced a £110 million deal to sell a Southall industrial park.
Segro, the industrial property developer once called Slough Estates, sold the 773,000 sq ft Great Western Industrial park in Middlesex to pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). It will become the new landlord for tenants including curry-making giant Noon.
The £110 million price tag was 10% more than the industrial park's book value back in June, leading property experts to hail the growing green shoots in the commercial sector.
Chief executive Ian Coull said the sale of the estate — part of the portfolio of rival Brixton, which Segro bought in August — proved the worth of that deal.
“This sale confirms the attractive price at which we acquired the whole of the Brixton portfolio,” he said. “Despite the challenging market, we believe that a number of further positive opportunities will emerge from the combination of such high-quality and well-located UK industrial portfolios.”
The deal backs up the findings from the latest survey of the UK commercial property market, with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) last week reporting the first rise in inquiries and lettings activity in the sector since the start of the year.
The RICS survey showed that the growth in market activity was led by London, where commercial tenant activity improved faster than any other UK region.
