Gordon Leslie and Patrizia shake hands over Hillington to secure work for the long haul, says Bob Serafini
Relations between landlord and tenant in any commercial property deal can be strained, and often depend on who's in the stronger position or who cracks first. So it is refreshingly unusual to hear of an outbreak of common sense in the latest deal at Hillington Park, Glasgow, where haulage and warehousing firm Gordon Leslie Distribution has expanded by buying over Benchmark Packaging.
The logistics firm's 80,000 sq ft premises at Edison Street are virtually next door, and both are involved in the whisky, wine and drinks sector, so there is a natural synergy in the move.
But the 180,000 sq ft premises occupied by Benchmark at 2 Stephenson Street - one of the largest and oldest on the estate - had roof problems and had only a couple of years left on the lease.
Gordon Leslie could not acquire the business under such conditions and the packaging firm's future was in jeopardy. In the middle of this, ownership of the 2m sq ft Hillington business park itself changed hands, with majority landlord MEPC selling out to a joint venture between US private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management and German asset manager Patrizia Immobilien.
Despite the complexities and new parties involved, flexibility all round achieved an outcome whereby the lease was restructured to add an extra 10 years of income for the landlord, and a rent-free period was introduced in recognition of the tenant's need to invest in repairing the roof.
Roddy Proudfoot of Patrizia said: "The key for us was introducing an occupier with more financial backing and a longer term story. From our point of view there was no immediate capital outlay, we secure a quality occupier with potential for growth, and start to build a relationship with the customer."
Managing director of the logistics firm, Craig Leslie said the deal enabled his 50-strong £6.5m turnover company to take forward the opportunity to diversify into a related field and expand his west of Scotland business. Benchmark currently employs 60 staff as well as temporary workers.
Neil Cockburn, the industrial agent who advised the logistics firm, said: "How often do landlord and tenant get into a bun fight, not seeing the larger picture? This time we achieved a case of landlord and tenant working together. It's a real win-win situation for both parties."
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