UK Land Estates has reacquired three prime North East business estates in a multi-million-pound deal.
The move comes as the company, one of the North of England’s largest commercial property operators, looks to continue acquiring and speculatively developing in the North East throughout 2023.
Comprising the majority of land and units at North Tyneside’s New York Industrial Estate, Cramlington’s Nelson Park and Boldon Industrial Estate, the deal will see UK Land Estate’s portfolio bolstered by a further 410,000sq ft of high quality commercial and industrial workspace.
UK Land Estates previously owned all three sites before selling them in 2017 to focus on enhancing and expanding sites at its flagship estates at Team Valley, Tyne Tunnel and Teesside.
However, with market conditions improving, the company has agreed to reacquire the three sites as it looks to capitalise on the growing number of businesses looking to ‘North-shore’ their operations by investing in the region.
Keith Taylor, managing director of UK Land Estates, said: “We are delighted to have completed the re-purchase of these three estates, each of which are located in prime sites across the North East.
“Over the past few years, we have invested heavily in upgrading our stock and developing new speculative sites at Teesside and the Tyne Tunnel, and with market conditions improving, we’re now turning our focus to bringing more space to market.
“But we’re not naive and while we’d like to buy – as well as develop – more sites, we know that there is a fundamental shortage of high-quality industrial stock being marketed across the region, so we’re delighted to have got the deal over the line.”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the global economy, UK Land Estates has seen demand for its property remain steadfast, with strong occupancy levels and competitive rates leaving the business in a healthy position.
Central to this has been the growing demand for prime industrial space, with the speculatively constructed £4.5 million L6 development at Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate recently being snapped up by global printing and supply chain specialist, Elanders, and more developments set to hit the market over the coming months.
“Like the old adage says, ‘build it and they will come’,” added Keith.
“The North East is home to an incredibly skilled workforce; it has easy access to global markets and is one of the nation’s largest net-exporters.
“And with more businesses than ever considering ‘North-shoring’ operations, there’s no reason why we should take our foot off the accelerator.
“We have some of the world’s largest offshore wind farms being built just off the coast in the North Sea, two planned battery giga-factories and one of the nation’s largest advanced manufacturing clusters.
“There’s so much going on here that despite the uncertainty surrounding the global economy, it’s fantastic that the North East is continuing to buck economic trends by holding its own on the global stage and we’re proud to be playing a part in the region’s resurgence.”
Existing tenants of New York Industrial Estate, Nelson Park and Boldon Industrial Estate will be unaffected by the sale.
