Hillview buys Leeds business park in Brexit pricing ‘dislocation’

Hillview Real Estate, part of The Hillview Group, has bought the Lawnswood Business Park in Leeds, for £26.5m. The group said it made the acquisition after identifying a “post-Brexit pricing dislocation” across the UK’s regional office and industrial markets. It noted the market shifts, driven by political uncertainty, has suppressed value in high-quality regional properties. The business park has eight commercial office buildings let to 17 tenants, including government agencies, technology and financial services companies and other SMEs. The deal was funded by ICG-Longbow under a senior debt facility. Nadav Livni, managing director of the Hillview Group, said: “While Brexit may be creating significant political uncertainty, the hesitancy from European and foreign investors offers opportunities for UK investors with a long-term perspective to established high-quality and diverse regional portfolios. “Following Brexit there is an opportunity for the government to massively boost the UK economy by investing in regional areas and this will benefit the regional office and industrial property sectors. “Having such a strong talent pool, infrastructure, access to capital and leading-edge innovation, I am hugely optimistic about the long-term prospects of the UK as a global hub of high-value manufacturing industries and services.” Separately, the group also plans to launch a third property fund in 2019. Bradley Pearlman, the partner at THG responsible for investor relations, added: “THG has established its reputation with investors over the last decade. Based on the strong interest from investors, we are making plans to launch Hillview Partners Property Fund III.” To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette