Brixton leads with £675m deal
BRIXTON has made itself the UK's biggest owner of industrial property in a £675m deal with a company backed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate.
The purchase of Industrious, the old Saville Gordon property company taken private two years ago, will push Brixton ahead of Slough Estates in terms of industrial property while expanding its presence in Birmingham and Manchester.
Industrious includes 163 properties covering 11.6m square feet of property, and the deal will land Morgan Stanley's property fund a hefty windfall after backing the buyout of the old Saville Gordon firm in a deal that valued the business at about £500m including debt.
Brixton is to pay Industrious £600m in cash and assume £60m of debt and £15m of working capital liabilities.
The deal is set to complete next month.
Brixton shares, which have underperformed the property sector by 10% this year, rose 1% to 303p in early trade, to value the company at just over £800m.
