BGO backs kick off of Henry Boot and Feldberg’s £1bn logistics jv

Feldberg Capital and HBD, Henry Boot’s property and development arm, have been backed by a £54m development loan from BGO. The financing is expected to go towards the duo’s UK-focused industrial and logistics platform Origin, which was launched late last year.  The financing is expected to support the acquisition and development of the Origin venture’s initial portfolio of seed assets, comprising three sites from HBD’s pipeline with a combined gross development value of £100m. These include the first phase of Spark in Walsall, Inter in Welwyn Garden City, and the second phase of Ark in Markham Vale. The Origin partnership will draw on both HBD’s development pipeline and acquire sites from third parties for further pre-let and speculative industrial and logistics development to deliver £1bn of schemes across the UK over the next seven years. James Lister, director at Feldberg Capital, said: “This facility will allow us to implement our business plan, while we look to grow the Origin portfolio and fulfil our aim of Origin becoming a market leader in the industrial and logistics mid-box space.” Hamer Boot, executive director, investment and funding at HBD, said: “We have confidence in the occupational story and rental growth in these locations and expect to see improving supply and demand dynamics.” Jim Blakemore, managing partner and global head of debt at BGO, said “This deal represents a continuation of our strategy of lending on high-quality assets in strong locations across the UK and Europe with best-in-class sponsors.” HBD has a 25% share of the joint venture, with Feldberg holding 75%. Feldberg is acting as the investment manager and HBD as the development manager.