Whirlpool washes its hands of Peterborough site

Whitegoods manufacturer Whirlpool has entered into a sale-and-leaseback of its UK headquarters in Peterborough. The 78-acre site has been bought by ICG Real Estate, the real estate arm of Intermediate Capital Group, for £54m. Whirlpool has taken a 15+5+5-year lease over the operational element of the property, with ICG controlling the remaining 24 acres of land. ICG Real Estate, with development partner Marchmont, said it intended to bring forward the surplus land to develop. Chad Brown, managing director of sale & leaseback at ICG, said: “This is an important transaction as it shows how we differentiate ourselves by actively seeking asset management opportunities when acquiring mission critical real estate. “We look forward to partnering with Whirlpool to support its long-term occupational requirements for the HQ campus.” He said the group was “actively seeking” similar opportunities across Europe, alongside traditional long and short-let single-tenanted real estate. John Rosenburg, global real estate, global portfolio senior manager at Whirlpool Corporation, said: “The sale of our Peterborough site and entering into a long-term lease obligation is part of a global real estate review. “We are proud to be based in Peterborough, employing generations of local families for more than 60 years and we continue to remain totally committed to the community. There will be no changes to the company’s business in Peterborough, where our operation will remain the same.” Cameron Fraser, director of Marchmont, added: “Peterborough is one of the fastest-growing cities in the UK and offers fantastic opportunities for the industrial and logistics sector thanks to its excellent road connectivity and strong labour supply.” Whirlpool was advised by CBRE; ICG was advised by DTRE.   To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@eg.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @EGPropertyNews Image courtesy of PR