Moorfield sells ex-Poundstretcher distribution hub in Huddersfield

Moorfield Logistics Partnership has sold Poundstretcher’s former Huddersfield logistics facility to a US-based REIT. The West Yorkshire facility was sold to WP Carey, a net lease REIT, for £29m on behalf of Moorfield Real Estate Fund III. The 385,000 sq ft freehold is let in its entirety to Poundstretcher, after a 25-year lease re-gear in December 2017. The retailer moved out of the warehouse in August as part of a relocation to Leicester, and intends to vacate its offices at the premises within the next 12 months. The building was sublet to Buy It Direct on a 10-year sub-lease. The property was acquired by Moorfield in 2017 alongside another logistics unit in Huddersfield. The disposal is the final logistics investment sold from MREFIII. A portfolio of five assets was sold to an institutional investor in 2018 for £42.5m. Charles Ferguson-Davie, chief investment officer at Moorfield Group, said: “We established the Moorfield Logistics Partnership within MREFIII to target logistics units with lot sizes of £5m-20m and with short-to-medium-term lease lengths. “This was the last remaining logistics asset in MREFIII and the sale has realised another successful investment in the logistics sector for Moorfield.” He said Moorfield is now looking to invest in new logistics opportunities on behalf of Moorfield Real Estate Fund IV, for a new Moorfield Logistics Partnership portfolio. It has so far acquired four properties totalling around 700,000 sq ft, with more planned for 2020. MLP was represented by Savills and the purchaser by Avison Young. To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette