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Doughty Hanson, Liberty Make $326M Park Buy

SOLIHULL, UK-The 14-building UK business park is the second bought by the European fund manager and Malvern, PA-based REIT.

By Joe Clements | Updated on September 11, 2007

SOLIHULL, UK-Blythe Valley Park here in this Midlands suburb of Birmingham is under new ownership following the sale to a partnership of US-based Liberty Property Trust and Doughty Hanson & Co. Real Estate, one of Europe’s largest CRE investment fund managers. The 14-building, 500,000-sf complex traded for $326 million, a price that also secures development rights for an approved 800,000-sf expansion expected to commence over the near term.

“Opportunities such as Blythe Valley Park don’t come around often,” says Andrew Blevins, managing director of the Liberty Property UK entity that acquired the 257-acre park. Not only does Blevins maintain that Liberty’s expertise in managing such assets makes for a good fit as it seeks to expand those services in the country, he notes that Doughty Hanson and his firm have an established relationship. The partners also recently acquired the 19-building, 535,000-sf Kents Hill business park in the city of Kent on England’s southeast coast.

The latest transaction, in which Doughty Hanson will contribute about 80% and Liberty the remainder, brings the amount invested in the Doughty Hanson & Co. European Real Estate Fund II to $532.5 million. The eight commitments made to date consume close to half the equity available after Fund II closed with a pool of $1.2 billion.

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