Hillview Real Estate, the UK regional office investor, has sold an office campus on the edge of Birmingham to Clowes Developments for £13.1 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.5%.
The campus is 2620-2650 Kings Court, which comprises six self-contained office buildings, totalling 52,373 sq ft, at Birmingham Business Park, the premier business park in the Midlands, located by the M42 in Solihull. It was acquired by Hillview in 2020 for Hillview Partners Property Fund III, its £300 million value-add regional real estate fund.
The sale comes after Hillview completed a series of value-add sustainability and lease initiatives to reposition the campus. Asset management highlights included renewing with Crimson its lease at unit 2640 for a further 10 years at a 45% higher rent and comprehensively refurbishing unit 2620, which was vacant at the time of acquisition, and subsequently letting it to Rivus Fleet Solutions on a 10-year lease at a record rent for Birmingham Business Park. The refurbishment and sustainability initiatives included installing energy efficient lighting, ventilation and water systems, and providing recycling units, as well as bicycle racks to promote cycling to work, and electric vehicle charge points.
Nadav Livni, founder of Hillview Group and fund manager of Hillview Real Estate, said: “This sale follows the successful completion of our business plan for the asset and provides us with equity for reinvestment into more active opportunities. It has generated an excellent return for the fund and corroborates our ESG investment strategy of repositioning carefully selected properties through active asset management”.
Robert Hepwood, Director at Clowes Developments commented on the deal,
“We are pleased to complete the acquisition of 2620-2650 Kings Court at Birmingham Business Park. Adding these properties to our portfolio will further complement our existing holdings across the Midlands.”
Hillview was advised by CBRE and Clowes Developments was advised by Holt Commercial.
