Westbrook receives financing to buy Merchant Trade Portfolio

Westbrook Partners has secured a £16.7m loan from Investec Bank to buy the Merchant Trade Portfolio from Eskmuir Properties. The deal comprises Kingfisher Business Park in Liverpool, Baron Avenue Trade Park in Kettering and Inkerman Street Trade Centre in Sunderland. The 269,000 sq ft portfolio has no current vacancies and generates total headline rent of £1.9m per annum. The portfolio was put up for sale via Lewis Ellis in June last year and also included 49,282 sq ft Whitley Hall Trade Park in Doncaster. Eskmuir was seeking offers over £36.2m for the four properties combined. Manraj Padda, vice president at Westbrook, said: “Speed and flexibility are key for us as we continue our drive into strategically located multi-let industrial assets in the UK.” Alice Harman, originator at Investec, said: “We continue to increase our exposure to select UK industrial and logistics assets, in line with our strong conviction in the sector’s structural drivers and compelling occupier trends. “This latest facility kickstarts a new partnership with Westbrook Partners and is an example of the team’s ability to work with borrowers to understand their business plans and execute bespoke solutions at speed.”