by Chris Borland

Forward commit deal closes for Crawley site

• What Pictet and Marchmont joint venture sells the Base, Crawley
• Why NFU Mutual has signed off £75m forward purchase deal on 10.5 acre site, continuing run of deals in the sector for the mutual
• What Next Two units at site totalling 235,000 sq ft will be delivered in September

NFU Mutual has pressed on with its convictions in the logistics sector with a
£75m forward purchase in the South East, React News can reveal.

Pictet Alternative Advisors and Marchmont Investment Management, for their
UK last-mile logistics joint venture, has completed a forward commitment deal
with NFU Mutual to deliver to 235,000 sq ft of industrial units at the Base,
Crawley.

The Base provides one of the only fully consented schemes in Crawley of this scale

JULIAN PERRY, MARCHMONT

The funding commitment will secure the delivery of two logistics units: an
88,000 sq ft hub and 147,000 sq ft facility.

Marchmont bought the Base in August 2020 for its £200m-plus last-mile
platform with Pictet. It was acquired for around £30m from Virgin Atlantic
Airways, which took a 12 month leaseback as part of the transaction.

Subsequently, Marchmont and Pictet secured detailed planning permission for
two B8 units at the site which have now been purchased by NFUM. Practical
completion of NFUM’s 235,000 sq ft scheme is due in September this year.

The lack of supply in Crawley and the South East for larger units is fuelling both
investor and occupier demand for such sites.

Julian Perry, director, Marchmont, said “The Base provides one of the only fully
consented schemes in Crawley of this scale. We are delighted to be working
with NFU Mutual to deliver this exciting project. NFU Mutual’s forward
commitment to the site supports our continued belief in the sector and with
sustainability at the forefront of our JV with Pictet, we believe this BREEAM
‘excellent’ scheme will be best in class.”

These two buildings will be really exciting additions to our portfolio and continue building upon the industrial development strategy that we have deployed

JON BRICE, NFUM

Jon Brice, fund manager, NFU Mutual, said: “These two buildings will be really
exciting additions to our portfolio and continue building upon the industrial
development strategy that we have deployed. I would like to thank everyone
involved for their hard work getting us to this stage, and I am really looking
forward to these Grade A, ESG-led buildings being brought forward.”

Charlie Baigler, head of acquisitions at Pictet, said: “We’re very happy to have
agreed this transaction with NFU demonstrating the continued strong
investment demand for high quality logistics assets in gateway locations. “

Cushman & Wakefield acted for Pictet and Marchmont. Burbage Realty
represented for NFUM.