Westway Industrial and Distribution Park in Renfrew, Glasgow has been sold by Prestbury WestCoast for £46M to a special purpose vehicle established by Moorfield Group, Halifax Bank of Scotland subsidiary Uberior Investments, and Westbrook Partners for £46M. The park offers more than 154,380sq m of industrial, distribution, warehouse and office space in a self-contained and secure 130-acre site adjacent to Glasgow International Airport.
Units at Westway currently range from 930sq m to 18,600sq m, and include a total of 25 tenants such as Mitsui Babcock Energy, Smurfit UK, Inventec Corporation and Emery Air Freight Corporation. Space will be available at rents between £1 and £3.50 per sq ft on flexible leases and Moorfield Group will also be embarking on an extensive refurbishment programme of the older stock. In addition there is potential for a further 46,500sq m of development with an existing planning consent (subject to conclusion of a Section 75 agreement).
With this planning permission there is an opportunity to build a bridge link across the White Cart Water River directly into Glasgow International Airport. The bridge, together with the proposed nearby extension of the M74 to connect to the M8 (enabling strategic transport access to the East and West of Scotland by avoiding the congested Kingston Bridge) give Westway the opportunity to realise its potential.
This strategic acquisition by Moorfield and Westbrook grows their joint industrial and distribution portfolio to more than 545,000sq m excluding development. Westway joins Woodside Industrial Park in Dunstable, purchased for £95M in 2003, and Heywood Distribution Park in Manchester, bought for £120M in June last year. Moorfield also owns Kembrey Park in Swindon giving its distribution and industrial network a 70,000sq m M4 presence.
Nic Fox, London-based principal of Westbrook Europe, says: “Westway is a logical geographical extension of our industrial and distribution partnership with Moorfield, through which we are building strong relationships with end users nationally.”
Milner Moffitt and Jones Lang LaSalle acted for Moorfield/ Westbrook Partners and Franc Warwick acted for Prestbury WestCoast. CMS Cameron McKenna and Paul Hastings were legal advisors to Moorfield/Westbrook and Brodies represented Prestbury West Coast.
