Walsall, Welwyn Garden City and Markham Vale in Derbyshire will see the first three developments of the new venture that is called Origin.
Origin is a mid-box industrial & logistics platform that is 75% owned by German investor Feldberg Capital and 25% by Henry Boot Developments (HDB). HBD will be the development manager, receiving fees for doing so, and Felberg will act as investment manager.
Origin is seeded with a £100m development portfolio. The target is to deliver £1bn of schemes across the UK over the next seven years.
The three initial sites have the potential to deliver approximately 450,000 sq ft of industrial & logistics (I&L) space, with construction on each due to start in the first half of 2025.
They are:
- Spark, Walsall (phase one), a 13-acre development site with a £53m gross development value (GDV), just off the M6. Spark has full planning consent for phase one, which comprises two units totalling 270,000 sq ft.
- Inter, Welwyn Garden City, a three-acre development site with a £27m GDV on Tewin Road near Junction 4 of the A1(M). The site has detailed planning consent for a 71,000 sq ft I&L scheme.
- Ark, Markham Vale, a nine-acre development site with a £19m GDV and planning consent for four units totalling 107,000 sq ft. This marks the second phase of HBD’s 200-acre flagship I&L scheme at Markham Vale.
Henry Boot chief executive Tim Roberts said: “The launch of this new industrial and logistics platform with Feldberg Capital is an important transaction for Henry Boot, allowing us to partner with a first-class international investor with the funds and ambition to invest alongside us into one of our key sectors. At the same time, it enables us to accelerate our own £1.3bn industrial and logistics pipeline and in turn recycle capital more efficiently. We now look forward to fulfilling our significant ambitions for Origin alongside the team at Feldberg.”
Feldberg Capital managing partner David Turner said: “Having held back from the industrial and logistics market while assets looked overpriced, we believe now is a highly attractive entry point, with land values having come down over the last 24 months and entry yields being at more sustainable levels. The positive tailwinds within the sector remain, driven by structural trends including the continued growth of e-commerce and more firms serving the UK market looking to ‘onshore’ their production here in the face of a shifting regulatory and geopolitical backdrop.
“Our aim is for Origin to become a market leader in the mid-box space. We’re excited to be working together with HBD, using our tried-and-tested ESG framework to deliver the next generation of units for modern, environmentally responsible occupiers, and driving strong risk-adjusted returns for our investors in the process.”
