Shropshire property business Bradford Estates buys up four new industrial sites

The company, based on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border, has completed the purchase of 15 units in Avonmouth, close to the Prince of Wales Bridge, on the outskirts of Bristol. 

The latest deal is part of what the company describes as a "long-term investment strategy" which has seen the company increase the number of industrial estates in its property portfolio by 50 per cent with the purchase of three other industrial sites.

The estate declined to give a specific figure on the value of the deals, but said the acquisitions were part of a strategy to buy up sites between £1m and £5m. 

The estate opened up 10 miles of permissive paths in woodland on its 12,000-acre site in Weston Under Lizard near Shifnal last month.

Alexander Newport, managing director of Bradford Estates, said: "We are delighted to have completed this significant expansion of our Bradford Industrial portfolio, which represents a major milestone in our growth strategy. These acquisitions perfectly align with our approach of targeting properties which can be enhanced over time within strong local economies.

"Each of these new sites offers exciting asset management opportunities and an excellent spread of occupiers from diverse business sectors. As a historic land and property steward with our heritage going back nearly 1,000 years, we are committed to applying our responsive management approach to generate positive improvements in these assets, optimising current performance and ensuring future resilience."

The largest acquisition is 76,000 square feet of property at Wear Industrial Estate in Washington, Tyne and Wear, which includes 12 buildings, fully let to business occupants ranging from international recognised businesses to local small to medium sized enterprises.

Also in the northeast, Bradford Estates has purchased two units totalling 30,000 square feet at an estate on Kilburn Drive in Peterlee, County Durham, which is single let to a timber products manufacturer.

The fourth acquisition is four units totalling 17,000 square feet at 325 Bristol Road in Gloucester, with tenants from the automotive and engineering sectors.

The company says its acquisition process has been led by Chris Hodson, who joined Bradford Estates as property director earlier this year. 

"We have a clear strategy to continue our investment in the multi-let industrial sector and these latest acquisitions into the Bradford Industrial portfolio each offer a diverse range of tenants and strong reversionary potential, aligning with our long-term objectives to deliver both sustainable income and value growth across the portfolio," he said.

"These acquisitions represent an exciting new chapter for Bradford Estates. Each estate presented compelling 'value add' opportunities that match perfectly with our investment criteria.

“We are grateful for the support of our advisers including Womble Bond Dickinson, Weston Allison Wright, Panovista Asset Management, Fisher German, Metcalf Harland, Russell Property Consultants, AP Investment and The Acquisition Group.”