Retailer linked to more office to warehouse schemes
Legendary retailer Clive Lewis’s investment and real estate company Blue Coast Capital has been linked with more office to warehouse schemes in the Southeast.
By Liza Helps Property Editor Logistics Matters
THE COMPANY has acquired the former EMEA Dell headquarters known as Dell House in Bracknell in the Thames Valley in partnership with real estate investor and developer Jansons, which it intends to redevelop as industrial.
Jansons has also bought another office property known as Kingsmead Business Park in High Wycombe and is promoting both sites jointly to deliver 300,000 ft2 of industrial space with a £100 million GDV.
Kingsmead Business Park is a 7.5 acre site currently consisting of 142,610 sq ft of offices and is 40% occupied while the Dell EMEA HQ site was acquired with vacant possession and totals 8.1 acres. It is thought a price of £14 million was paid. The building is located in the Amen Corner Business Park area, adjacent to the Western Industrial area of Bracknell.
Cogent Real Estate and Philips Lockhart Starr advised Blue Coast and Jansons Property. Cushman & Wakefield advised Dell EMC.
In a post on LinkedIn Jansons said it was ‘delighted to have acquired The Boulevard, Bracknell in partnership with Blue Coast Capital’.
A spokesperson for Jansons,however, could not confirm any links with Blue Coast Capital at this stage due to confidentiality but stated: “Jansons Property has established relationships with institutional investors which enable them to take on development projects of this size and scale.”
In a blog on its website it said: “This [deal] fits the mould for the current acquisition strategy at Jansons, which is office sites to industrial and we are actively searching for new opportunities.
“Jansons currently see an excellent gap in the market to acquire and are bullish about the industrial market, especially in the South East where there is a distinct lack of stock.”
Earlier this year Logistics Matters reported on the redevelopment of the former Volvo HQ in Marlowe being undertaken by BC BBU a subsidiary of Blue Coast Capital specialising in the development of small commercial units and warehousing.
https://www.logisticsmatters.co.uk/offices-into-warehousing-marlow-bucks
The origins of Blue Coast Capital lie in post-war retailing. Founders of the iconic 60s retailer Chelsea Girl and later River Island diversified their portfolio of businesses to include real estate, private equity, hotels & leisure, and other consumer driven businesses.
Blue Coast Capital stands separate from River Island and is a privately owned business.
