Patrizia secures off-market sale of Abingdon Business Park for £61.5 million

Patrizia AG, the global partner for pan-European real estate investment, has completed the off-market sale of Abingdon Business Park in Oxfordshire, on behalf of its UK Value 2 fund, to Royal London Mutual Insurance Society for £61.5 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.8%.

Patrizia, which has been active as an investment manager in the real estate market across Europe for more than 35 years, was advised by JLL and Bidwells acted for Royal London Mutual Insurance Society.

Patrizia acquired the 415,000 sq ft park comprising a mix of office, R&D and industrial space, in 2015, and since then has undertaken a comprehensive asset management programme, refurbishing and re-letting the majority of space on the estate. As a result, the occupancy of the park has increased significantly from approximately 60% on acquisition to over 90% today, with 35 tenants currently in place. XLB acted as advisor to Patrizia throughout the hold period.

Located on a 50-acre site adjacent to the A34 and just outside of Abingdon town centre, the park benefits from an excellent location in the core of Oxfordshire’s economic and knowledge corridor.

Duncan White, Director of UK Fund Management at Patrizia, said: “This off-market sale is ahead of our business plan for Abingdon Business Park and crystallises extremely strong and market leading returns for our investors, as well as being highly accretive to the overall performance of the Fund. Furthermore, the transaction is further evidence of the continued institutional appetite for UK multi-let commercial real estate in strong regional locations such as this.”

James Orr, Senior Fund Manager and Head of Industrial at Royal London Asset Management,added: “Abingdon Business Park is a great acquisition for us and aligns with our investment strategy to acquire best-in-class multi-let commercial estates in locations with strong growth potential. RLAM have completed £360m of industrial purchases over the past 12 months including Kings Norton, Birmingham (£134m), Tower Thurrock, Essex (£56m) and Overton Park, Peterborough (£44m) and we continue to explore new opportunities which fit with our Fund requirements.”