By Ian McConnell

THE 11-acre site occupied by engineer Howden Group at Braehead, near Glasgow, has been bought by London & Scottish Property Investment Management (LSPIM) for £7.1 million.

LSPIM, the asset manager for office and industrial property trust Regional REIT, noted annual rent from the site was £763,000 or £3.73 per square foot and that there were 4.3 years to run on the lease.

It said the price reflected a net initial yield of 10.1 per cent, after acquisition costs had been taken into account.

A spokesman for LSPIM said it had taken over management of the site and Howden would continue to occupy it.

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The 204,414 sq ft manufacturing and warehousing facility on Old Govan Road dates from the 1960s, LSPIM noted.

The asset manager added that, since taking over the site in 1982, Howden had extended and developed it to accommodate large-scale manufacturing.

The site now comprises five interlinked warehouses, with eaves heights ranging from eight metres to 17 metres, and houses 15 heavy-duty cranes.

As well as the industrial units, the site has 18,337 sq ft of ancillary office accommodation over ground and first-floor levels as well as 230 parking spaces.

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LSPIM said: “The area immediately surrounding the Howden site has witnessed a lot of residential development in recent years in addition to commercial, industrial and retail activity.”

It highlighted the proximity of the site to the Intu Braehead shopping centre.

Stephen Inglis, chief executive of LSPIM, said: “This opportunistic acquisition presents a very interesting and unusual opportunity, as property of this scale does not often come on to the market. It is well let to an excellent tenant with an international pedigree. There is strong occupier demand for property assets in excess of 100,000 sq ft across Scotland, especially sites with good access to the motorway network, and the scale of the site offers longer-term potential redevelopment for alternative uses.”

LSPIM noted that commercial property specialist Inglis Howie had advised on the acquisition.