Valor Real Estate Partners, the pan-European urban logistics platform, has completed the acquisition of its first asset in Birmingham, as it looks to expand its footprint across key regional cities.

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Having amassed a c.£1bn UK portfolio predominantly focused in London, Valor is looking to selectively expand its regional footprint as it seeks to double the size of its UK portfolio, taking advantage of the favourable market dynamics as businesses seek to maximise supply chain efficiencies. Valor has identified Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds as core target cities and is aiming to deploy a significant portion of its current £1bn investment vehicle into those markets.

Valor has completed the acquisition of Oscar House, which comprises 51,055 sq ft of modern logistics space on a 3.68-acre plot located in the Tyseley district of Birmingham, with the City Centre and M42 accessible with 7 minutes and 10 minutes’ drive time respectively. Acquired from Vengrove, Valor intends to reposition the vacant building to cater to both nationwide parcel distributors and last-mile logistics operators, benefitting from the accessibility and connectivity of the location, with 5.6 million people living within a 60-minute drive.

Birmingham is a well-established yet fast-growing regional industrial hub in the West Midlands, a region that saw take up reach 11.14 million sq ft in H1 2021, a 75 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. The Birmingham city market is characterised by a chronic shortage of good quality logistics stock, which has resulted in vacancy rates falling to a seven-year low of 2.1%, which is expected to underpin continued rental growth.

Valor is a specialist urban logistics platform which has established a €2 billion portfolio comprising over 110 assets and seven million sq ft in over four years.

Cane Napolitano, Partner, Head of Investments, Valor, commented: “Whilst our focus will remain on the dominant European metropolitan hubs of London and Paris, following a period of record take-up and accelerating structural trends caused by the pandemic, we see a compelling investment opportunity in select regional UK city sub-markets. Furthermore, with population growth forecast in these target cities over the medium term and e-commerce penetration set to catch up with London, there are strong drivers for sustained rental growth and yield compression. Our highly forensic approach to sourcing and acquiring assets will continue to be a key differentiator in what are increasingly competitive markets.”

Timour Wielemans, UK Investments, Valor, commented: “We are delighted to have acquired our first asset in Birmingham. This acquisition included an additional 1-acre of land located at the rear of the warehouse, creating a low site cover unit that will be perfectly positioned to cater to e-commerce and last-mile occupiers delivering goods into Birmingham City Centre.”

Valor was advised by Savills and Simmons & Simmons. 

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