Barker Storey Matthews help SB Components to expand in £3m forward funding deal

Property Consultants, Barker Storey Matthews, have helped rapidly expanding Wisbech based SB Components on their next phase of expansion.

SB Components are the UK’s leading supplier of bespoke components for commercial vehicles. The company already occupy several buildings in Wisbech and have an impressive customer base including many major retailers and logistics operations.

Having recently acquired another Wisbech based business, Priden Engineering, the company submitted plans to redevelop one of the Priden sites as a new state of the art Fleet Centre designed to serve larger commercial fleet customers.

Although they owned the freehold of the development site, SB’s preference was to lease the new building so they approached Barker Storey Matthews to act on their behalf to arrange a forward funding of the 26,000 sq ft development.

BSM advised on the lease terms in order to maximise the value from the site and having agreed the approach with SB an investor who would acquire the site and finance the construction of the new building in return for SB entering into a lease of the completed building.

A number of investors were appointed and having drawn up a shortlist of interested parties, investors were invited to submit their proposals in early November. Terms were quickly agreed with the preferred bidder and the legal documentation was concluded in January.

SB’s Managing Director, James Warren, added “We are a rapidly growing business and the new Fleet Centre will enable us to provide a dedicated service to our fleet customers. The expansion is also likely to increase our workforce from its existing level of around 200 to over 250.

Work on the construction of the new building has now commenced with completion scheduled for September 2019.