Harworth Group plc, a leading regenerator of land and property for development and investment has acquired Saturn Park (“Saturn”) in Knowsley, Merseyside for £26 million (plus acquisition costs) as it continues to grow both its investment portfolio and its presence across the North West.
Situated on a 35.2 acre site, Saturn Park comprises c.416,000 sq. ft of modern warehouse space across three units with ancillary offices, plus c.13.1 acres of open storage land, which together generates a passing rent of £2.14 million per annum with a WAULT to expiry of 5.25 years. This reflects a Net Initial Yield of c.7.7% and a reversionary yield of c.9.0%. B8 Real Estate acted on behalf of the vendor.
Located adjacent to Junction 4 of the M57, Saturn Park is well-positioned for access to The Port of Liverpool, the M58, M62 and M6 motorway. The site’s warehouse space is let to two tenants including Singleton Trading, a specialist importer and distributor of toys and goods to the North West, which occupies two units totalling c. 317,600 sq. ft. The third c.77,000 sq. ft unit is let to Relonchem, an independent pharmaceutical company. Four tenants occupy the majority of open storage land across five leases, generating an annual passing rent of c. £628,000, whilst c. 10,500 sq. ft of the 22,000 sq. ft of office space is let to the NHS.
Harworth will use its significant asset management experience to drive further value at Saturn, including refurbishment works and enhanced marketing of the remaining vacant office space and land, whilst also exploring the potential for further development on the 4.25 acres of currently vacant land on the site.
Harworth’s existing investment portfolio generates £17.2 million of income per annum (as at 30 June 2020), making a significant contribution to the Group’s profits and value gains whilst covering the company’s principal overheads.
In March 2020, Harworth appointed Richard Bousfield as Head of Income to boost its in-house asset management abilities as it seeks to maximise capital values and rental income across the portfolio. Bousfield is also responsible for identifying additional high-yielding investments with asset management potential, including the opportunity for further development. With the company in a strong financial position, Harworth will look to make similar industrial property purchases close to the motorway network in the North West and its other core regions as a key part of delivering its company strategy.
“This off-market transaction is an excellent use of our significant financial headroom to further improve the resilience and depth of our investment portfolio, whilst also providing clear asset management opportunities to generate future value gains. The acquisition also underlines our ongoing commitment to invest in the regions and with obvious synergies to the Port of Liverpool, it directly supports Government efforts to rebalance the UK economy.”
Lynda Shillaw, Chief Executive, Harworth Group plc
“In buying Saturn Business Park in a matter of weeks, we’ve once again we’ve proved our ability to quickly transact and be a trusted counter-party for vendors. We remain firmly in the market for similar industrial property with asset management potential and I look forward to completing further deals in due course.”
Richard Bousfield, Head of Income, Harworth Group plc