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LONDON-ProLogis has bought Severn Trent Property Ltd., a unit of locally-based utility Severn Trent PLC, for an undisclosed sum. The deal gives ProLogis access to a portfolio of land assets that can support more than 3.5 million sf of industrial development in the East and West Midlands. Most of the development of these sites will take place over the next three years and entail a total investment of more than $575 million.

"Maintaining a long-term pipeline of developable land is a critical success factor in the United Kingdom industrial development business, given the general shortage of supply here and continued robust demand from customers for high-quality, well-located facilities," says Alan Curtis, managing director and head of the company's United Kingdom operations.

The portfolio includes development sites in three major industrial locations in the UK. Midpoint Park is an 84-acre site near Birmingham that can support more than 1.2 million sf of warehouse development. ProLogis now owns 100% of the freehold interest. Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal is comprised of 131 acres in the East Midlands and includes an intermodal rail facility and can support 1.9 million sf of industrial. ProLogis now holds a 92.5% stake in the freehold. Coton Park is 26 acres in the East Midlands adjacent to an existing ProLogis development. The site can support 365,000 sf of new development.