Chancerygate and Bridges JV exchanges on 7.5-acre Edinburgh site to deliver £25m speculative development

Chancerygate and Bridges Fund Management’s joint venture (JV) has exchanged contracts to acquire a 7.5-acre site in Edinburgh.

The site, currently known as Grayfield House, is located in Sighthill which is approximately five miles south west of the city centre and currently comprises 90,000 sq ft of office accommodation. The vendor is Mapeley and the sale will complete next April.

The JV intends to speculatively develop a ‘best-in-class’ urban logistics scheme on the site, which will be known as Capital Park, and has a projected gross development value of £25m.

The JV will be submitting a planning application to redevelop the site to deliver 165,000 sq ft of industrial and warehousing space across 20 units ranging from 3,400 sq ft to 25,000 sq ft. Units will be available freehold or leasehold.

Neighbouring occupiers to the proposed development include Evans Halshaw, Tool Station, Edinburgh College, Edinburgh Napier University and Burton Biscuit Company.

Commenting on the acquisition, Chancerygate development director, Mike Walker, said: “We are very pleased to have secured this development opportunity in what is widely regarded as Edinburgh’s prime industrial location.

“We believe there is an undersupply of Grade A best-in-class industrial space in Edinburgh and our site will go some way to addressing this imbalance. We will be offering the units on a sale or leasehold basis, which is quite rare within the city, and we already have interest from a variety of potential occupiers.

“The site is situated within close proximity to Edinburgh’s motorway network, commuter links and airport, making it an ideal location for SME occupiers, trade counters and last mile logistics operators.”

Chancerygate and Bridges Fund Management have been working in partnership on projects for more than 10 years. Investments include the development of ‘The Curve’, a student housing development in London SE1; the regeneration of Beeston Business Park, Nottingham; and the acquisition of sites earlier this year for industrial development in Coventry and Peterborough totalling 454,000 sq ft.

Bridges Fund Management partner, Guy Bowden, added: “It’s great to be finalising our third recent JV with Chancerygate following our acquisitions in Coventry and Peterborough. The site offers an excellent opportunity to carry out some significant regeneration work and we will ultimately provide space that is much more environmentally sustainable the accommodation currently available in the area.”

The JV was advised by property consultancy Galbraith on the site acquisition whilst property agents Savills and Ryden advised Mapeley. Galbraith and Ryden will be the retained agents on the development.