US real estate giant Investcorp partners with Citivale to develop £40m property portfolio

US real estate investor Investcorp has partnered up with a Yorkshire-based property investment and asset management company to develop a multi-million pound property portfolio.

Investcorp, which is seeking to expand its real estate activities beyond the US, has just acquired seven industrial properties across the UK, including two in Yorkshire, for £40m from LC Industrial.

The properties are located in Batley, South Elmsall, Liverpool, Warrington, High Wycombe, Glasgow and Edinburgh, all of which had been managed by Leeds-based Citivale under the LC Industrial partnership with LRE Capital.

James Appleton-Metcalfe, managing director of Citivale, said: “These are very exciting times for Citivale. For us, the Investcorp deal represents a successful exit from our partnership with LRE Capital ahead of schedule in our business plan.

“We have been delighted with the progress we have made with all seven properties, maximising their potential and attracting new occupiers. We will now be building on this success with Investcorp, making the most of a burgeoning logistics and distribution sector in the UK.

“Our focus will be to ensure that every element of this high-quality 700,000 sq ft industrial property portfolio will achieve its potential by repositioning the seven properties through comprehensive refurbishment, re-gearing leases and minimising voids.”

Mr Appleton-Metcalfe also noted that the Humber Enterprise Park at Brough, which was part of the original LC Industrial portfolio, remains under the ownership of the Citivale/LRE Capital partnership.

The Enterprise Park incorporates 1.3 million sq ft of office and industrial space and 20 acres of development land. To date £6m has been spent on regenerating the whole site, with another £1.2m earmarked for further improvements.

It is estimated that 1,600 new and sustainable jobs will be created when the park is fully developed during the next three years.

He added: “The scale of the development and the investment at Humber Enterprise Park meant that it did not fit naturally into the portfolio sale. We will continue to proactively manage the park, attracting new tenants, refurbishing old buildings and developing unused land. So far it has been a tremendous success story and we will ensure that continues.”

Investcorp said this deal was the first step in its plan to build on its activities in the US, where it is one of the biggest international real estate investors. Launched in 2016, Investcorp’s European strategy aims to create a portfolio of income-generating assets for investors.

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