Cadbury warehouse sold
Cadbury’s distribution centre at Midpoint Park, Birmingham, has been sold for £24.7m. The 403,000 sq ft warehouse, one of the largest chilled warehouses in Europe, was acquired by US investor Cabot Properties.
The purchase is Cabot’s first foray into the UK property market.
Real estate firm Hines completed the sale on behalf of its Pan-European Core Fund (HECF).
Hines originally acquired the property for HECF in a sale and leaseback deal from Cadbury. The chocolate maker, now owned by US food giant Kraft, has a lease until 2016.
The Birmingham office of Colliers International advised Hines. King Sturge acted for Cabot Properties.
Chris Bampton, associate director in the investment team at Colliers, said: “Despite challenging conditions there is still demand for well let assets, and despite the relatively short nature of the income in this particular transaction, the location and quality of the unit proved favourable to both foreign and domestic buyers.”
Allan Wilson, a partner in the investment team at King Sturge, added: “It shows the strength of the Birmingham distribution market that Cabot, one of the US's largest industrial investors, decided to make their first UK acquisition in our region, and naturally King Sturge was delighted to advise."
