Industrial building developer and owner SEGRO has sold a West London warehouse estate to Imperial College London for £115 million.
The 10-acre SEGRO Park Victoria Road in Park Royal was acquired in 2009. Rents have grown significantly since then to £3.2 million. The age and layout of the estate caused SEGRO to secure vacant possession for redevelopment. Consequently, the estate is 64% occupied.
Warehouse estate to be used to develop WestTech Corridor
Imperial will use the site to help develop the WestTech Corridor to provide commercial science innovation facilities to early-stage companies.
The site has been identified for future mixed-use development by Imperial’s strategic partners Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and Ealing Council as part of the area’s significant regeneration plans.
The WestTech Corridor will be anchored by major science and technology innovation in South Kensington-Albertopolis, Paddington Life Sciences Cluster, White City Innovation District and Old Oak and also Park Royal.
Reinvest proceeds
Bonnie Minshull, Head of London at SEGRO, says, “SEGRO Park Victoria Road has performed very well for SEGRO over the past decade. This sale to a special purchaser, for the provision of commercial science and innovation facilities, allows us to reinvest the proceeds into our wider London portfolio.
“Imperial’s WestTech Corridor vision is a welcome initiative from a world-leading institution, adding another powerful driver of demand to London’s primary industrial and logistics cluster, in which SEGRO owns approximately 6 million square feet of space.”
Globally competitive tech innovation ecosystem
Hugh Brady, Imperial President, says, “Imperial College London is investing in its ambitious vision for a new globally competitive deep tech innovation ecosystem in West London. The Imperial WestTech Corridor will act as a powerful engine for investment, inclusive economic growth, and job creation at a local, regional, and national level supported by the government’s emerging Industrial Strategy.”
Laura Citron, Chief Executive of London & Partners, the growth agency for the capital, says “This is a brilliant move by Imperial and completely aligned with the emerging London Growth Plan, which will be published in early 2025. London has world-class research strengths in deep tech such as life sciences, natural sciences, materials science, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. But we need spaces to turn great ideas into great products which can be manufactured at scale across the UK.
“This investment will not only drive inclusive growth in London – it will also support the UK’s ambitions in advanced manufacturing. We are working closely with Imperial and other London universities to develop our capability to scale deep tech.”
SEGRO was advised by Montagu Evans and Gowling WLG (UK) LLP. Savills (UK) Ltd acted for Imperial and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP as legal advisor.
SEGRO is a UK Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that owns or manages 10.8 million square metres of space (116 million square feet) valued at £20.6 billion. Its properties are in and around major cities and at key transportation hubs in the UK and also in seven other European countries.
