Sterling Property Ventures (Sterling) has snapped up Nottingham mixed-use scheme Chapel Quarter.
It comes as part of a wider deal for a portfolio of seven commercial property assets acquired from BlackRock – acting on behalf of British Airways Pensions Trustees Limited – for £236 million.
Comprising 144,906 sq ft in the centre of Nottingham, Chapel Quarter includes a 120-bed Premier Inn, 66,054 sq ft of fully let offices and five retail/leisure units (one vacant).
All properties in the portfolio, which includes a shopping centre, retail and logistics warehousing, offices, a hotel and food and beverage space, are freehold or held on long leases and boast a combined income in excess of £18.5 million.
James Howarth, Sterling’s managing director, said: “Our plan is to have a minimum of £1billion of assets under management. Acquiring a property portfolio from British Airways Pensions is a significant stepping stone towards that target. We are seeking high quality assets, ideally with the opportunity to add value, allowing us to bring our skills to bear. As this latest purchase demonstrates, we are sector agnostic.”
The seven new assets will be held in Sterling’s SPV Endeavour Ltd vehicle, which is backed by equity investor LetterOne.
Fund manager BlackRock, through its Real Estate business, led the deal on behalf of British Airways Pension Trustees Limited, with joint agents ACRE Capital, Morgan Williams and Capital Real Estate Partners handling the sale.
Sterling was represented by Knight Frank and HP Four LLP. Colliers undertook building surveys, with MAPP providing property management advice.
