https://www.insider.co.uk/news/edinburg ... s-21121364" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
international real estate business Hines has acquired the Royal Mail sorting warehouse in Edinburgh from RPMI RailPen for around £25 million.
Hines Global Income Trust will take over the 215,745 sq ft facility occupied by Royal Mail on the Sighthill Industrial Estates beside Hermiston Gait Retail Park to the west of the city.
The property serves as the collection and sorting point for all mail from the east side of Scotland and employs more than 700 people on site. The acquisition marks the third investment in UK logistics assets by Hines Global in 2019.
Hines Global acquired a 139,387 sq ft asset in Milton Keynes, occupied by men’s clothing retailer Charles Tyrwhitt, and a 270,248 sq ft distribution facility in Bristol, occupied by DSG Retail, in November 2019.
Hines Global CEO Sherri Schugart said: “We are excited to expand Hines Global’s presence in the UK logistics market by completing our third strategic logistics acquisition in the UK and our ninth acquisition worldwide this year. We continue to see attractive opportunities to acquire high quality assets in strategic markets globally.”
Greg Cooper, Hines UK director of industrial and logistics, said: “The site is a key location for Royal Mail and is well positioned to serve Edinburgh and the wider east of Scotland.
“We continue to see value in logistics assets that benefit from close proximity to established distribution nodes and good tenants.”
ACRE Capital Real Estate advised Hines Global on the deal and Knight Frank represented RPMI Railpen. RPMI Railpen is responsible for the safekeeping and investment of around£30 billion on behalf of the Railways Pension Scheme’s 350,000 members who are connected to the railway industry.