Investment in Urban Industrial Estates Signals Strong Conviction in U.K. Market
Edmonton, Alberta (December 16, 2020) – Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), on behalf of certain of its clients, and Canmoor have completed the off-market acquisition of 10 urban industrial estates in the U.K. from Starwood Capital Group and Barings.
The portfolio consists of high-quality warehouse properties totalling 1.6 million square feet, located in major urban conurbations including Oxford, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow.
The estates typically comprise mid-size units ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 square feet that serve last-mile delivery/trade counter/storage functions. The acquisition positions AIMCo and Canmoor to capitalize on the continued growth of online retailing, heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, set against the low supply of new industrial estates. The portfolio is approximately 95% let to more than130 individual tenants.
“We continue to have strong conviction in the U.K. urban industrial market. Occupational demand remains strong, set against a backdrop of very limited new supply and low vacancy. This portfolio complements our existing U.K. industrial exposure and is well positioned to capture future growth in the sector. We look forward to working with Canmoor to create additional value in the portfolio,” commented Rupert Wingfield, AIMCo’s Head of European Real Estate.
AIMCo and Canmoor were advised by DTRE.
About Alberta Investment Management Corporation
AIMCo is one of Canada’s largest and most diversified institutional investment managers with more than $118 billion of assets under management. AIMCo was established on January 1, 2008 with a mandate to provide superior long-term investment results for its clients. AIMCo operates at arms-length from the Government of Alberta and invests globally on behalf of 31 pension, endowment and government funds in the Province of Alberta.
AIMCo’s $15.5 billion real estate portfolio includes Core strategy assets, comprising long term, direct investments in quality office, retail, industrial and multi-unit residential properties located in Canada’s major cities, and Foreign Program assets, comprising opportunistic investments targeted to quality real estate assets, in markets with long term growth characteristics, and supported by strong local management teams. For more information on AIMCo please visit www.aimco.ca.
About Canmoor
Canmoor is a private commercial property business specialising in the warehouse and business space sectors. Since our inception in 2005, Canmoor has acquired, managed, developed and sold over £2 billion of commercial property assets, claiming multiple awards including Development of the Year, Deal of the Year and Best Overall Scheme. Canmoor currently manages a portfolio in excess of 15,000,000 sq ft with over 700 tenants across the UK. For more information, please visit www.canmoor.com.