A Tesco distribution centre near Bristol has been sold off for more than $135m (£102m) to an unknown buyer.
The 540,000 sq ft facility, which was originally developed by the supermarket in 2010, serves over 400 stores across the South West and South Wales.
Property asset management firm Roebuck, a UK subsidiary of GFH Financial Group (GFH), completed the off-market sale.
The deal marks the end of a successful hold period for Roebuck, which acquired the asset for $94m in October 2017 on behalf of a consortium of institutional Korean investors. According to the firm, the income and value increase provided the investors with a post-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of more than 16%.
The asset was the second acquisition Roebuck has made with South Korean investors and with Capstone Asset Management. The sale of Tesco Avonmouth follows Roebuck’s 2021 sale of Accolade Wines’ Avonmouth warehouse for $123m to real estate investment company Tritax Big Box REIT.
“The sale of Tesco Avonmouth has delivered our Korean investors significant out performance,” said Hugh Macdonald-Brown, managing partner at Roebuck.
“It was fantastic to work with Capstone on another successful investment and the intention is to hopefully find new projects to work on together. Roebuck is actively pursuing opportunities to recycle capital from these sales for either UK and European logistics assets.”
Tesco will continue to use the distribution centre, Roebuck confirmed.
GFH acquired a majority stake in Roebuck, which continues to operate independently, in December 2020. Since GFH’s acquisition, Roebuck has opened new offices in London and Spain, and has said it plans for further openings over the next 18 months.
Nael Mustafa, board member at Roebuck and co-chief investment officer at GFH, added: “We’re pleased to announce this important exit by Roebuck of one of the prime logistics assets in the portfolio. The strategy to sell the Tesco distribution centre is in line with Roebuck’s plans to continue to build on its already very strong track record.”
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