Clipstone launches new fund to focus on London and South East industrial sector

Clipstone, a specialist industrial fund management firm, is to merge its two main funds to create one larger, more liquid, better-diversified vehicle, Clipstone Industrial REIT.

The move follows Clipstone’s sale of a Midlands distribution warehouse portfolio for £85.4 million ($109.5 million), representing a 44 percent premium to acquisition price and 6 percent above Clipstone’s most recent valuation. The sale marks a complete exit from the distribution warehouse sector by Clipstone as it refocuses its operations solely on the London and Southeast U.K. industrial sector, both multi-tenant industrial assets and London “last mile” logistics units.

At the outset CIR will own 37 good-quality industrial properties with more than 200 tenants and numerous opportunities for Clipstone’s specialist asset management team to drive value. Some 98 percent of the fund’s properties will be located in the Southeast of the United Kingdom, with 46 percent in the London/M25 r