Harworth Group completes £13.4m acquisition of Preston business park

Harworth Group plc, the Rotherham-headquartered brownfield regeneration and property investment specialist, has acquired Four Oaks Business Park in Preston, Lancashire for £13.425m.

Located five miles to the south east of Preston, Four Oaks is situated at the intersection of Junction 9 of the M61, Junctions 29 and 30 of the M6 and Junction 2 of the M65.

The site, which extends across 19.4 acres with 428,800 sq ft of built logistics warehousing space, is close to Harworth’s Logistics North development in Bolton and its recently acquired Moorland Gate Business Park in Chorley.

There are further asset management and development opportunities that the Company will look to secure, including lease re-gears to conservative ERVs of £3.75 psf and the potential development of a further 0.5 acres for roadside uses.

Four Oaks is a multi-let investment comprising six lettings. The estate is currently fully let and tenants include FDC (Holdings) Ltd, Bosal Automotive and H Parkinson Haulage

The acquisition was wholly funded through existing cash reserves and completion took place within six weeks of agreeing heads of terms.

With this newest deal, Harworth has now made £55m of acquisitions since December 2014.

It is the company’s second purchase in Lancashire in the fourth Quarter of 2016, following its acquisition of Moorland Gate Business Park in Chorley for £4.5m in November.

Owen Michaelson, Harworth’s CEO, said: “The acquisition of the well-located Four Oaks Business Park continues the process of increasing and improving the quality of our recurring income base whilst also providing a blend of asset management and development opportunities to generate future value.”

Gary Owens, director of acquisitions, added: “This is an excellent purchase for Harworth, reinforcing our objective of replenishing our portfolio with new sites in the regions in which we already operate.

“The purchase of Four Oaks and Moorland Gate also reflects our confidence in the North West property market which we’re keen to build on in 2017. Completing the purchase within six weeks of agreeing heads of terms also maintains our reputation for transacting swiftly, however complex the site acquisition.”