Joint venture acquires prime Leeds site to deliver £31m, 231,000 sq ft industrial scheme

A joint venture has acquired a 11.14-acre site called Triangle 45 on the East Leeds link road in Cross Green to speculatively develop 231,000 sq ft of sustainable industrial, trade and roadside space.

Industrial developer and asset manager Chancerygate and sustainable and impact investor Bridges Fund Management intend to deliver 23 units ranging from 4,000 sq ft to 34,000 sq ft at the site. It will be the first time Chancerygate has developed in Yorkshire since the company was founded in 1995.

The two companies acquired the site for £6m from Halifax Estates and anticipate that, once complete, the proposed scheme will have a gross development value of around £31m. A planning application will be submitted to Leeds City Council within the next two months.

The scheme will be aimed at the owner occupier market and will offer units for sale on a freehold basis. According to the partners, it is over a decade since a multi-unit industrial development aimed at owner occupiers was developed in the city.

Triangle 45 is prominently located within the Cross Green industrial area on the East Leeds link road, which connects junction 45 of the M1 with Leeds city centre. Notable occupiers close to the site include Amazon, John Lewis, FedEx, Lamborghini and McLaren.

Commenting on the acquisition, Chancerygate development manager, Chris Brown, said: “We have a clear vision for Triangle 45 and are really excited about delivering our first ever development in Yorkshire.

“The connectivity and prominence of the site is of huge appeal to a range of different occupier types. We strongly believe there is latent demand from owner occupiers in Leeds so we expect our product to be extremely well received.”

The industrial units at the scheme will be targeting BREEAM ‘Very Good’ and EPC ratings of B as a minimum; this is likely to reduce utility costs for tenants and minimise the development’s impact on the environment.

Commercial real estate consultants Lambert Smith Hampton and chartered surveyor and property consultancy Sanderson Weatherall have been appointed joint agents for the scheme.

Chancerygate is the UK’s largest multi-unit industrial developer and asset manager and the only one operating nationwide with offices in London, Birmingham, Milton Keynes and Warrington. The company currently has up to three million sq ft of industrial space under construction or ready for development across 23 sites ranging from Bournemouth to Edinburgh.

Chancerygate also manages in excess of £255m of assets across more than five million sq ft of commercial space in more than 390 units. Earlier this year, a £100m multi-let industrial property investment fund managed by Chancerygate and property investment company JR Capital acquired the 55,700 sq ft Eagle Industrial Estate on Torre Road in Leeds for £3.8m.

Chancerygate has been working in partnership with Bridges on projects for more than 10 years. Investments include the development of ‘The Curve’, a student housing development in London SE1; the regeneration of Beeston Business Park, Nottingham; and recent site acquisitions for speculative industrial developments in Coventry, Peterborough and Edinburgh.

Guy Bowden, partner at Bridges Fund Management, added: “We are delighted to partner with Chancerygate again for this exciting development in Leeds.

“The growth of ecommerce is driving strong demand for industrial units like these, and our experience of similar developments across the country has shown us that tenants are increasingly seeking out sustainability features that minimise emissions and reduce operating costs.

“We think this will make Triangle 45 an attractive proposition for owner-occupiers, which in turn will enable it to become an engine of job creation and economic growth for the local area.”