International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised InfraRed Capital Partners on UK corporate and tax law aspects of a £250m sale of a portfolio of last-mile logistics assets in the UK and France to Blackstone real estate funds.
The portfolio comprises 2.2m sq ft of warehousing space across 50 properties in the UK and France. The UK portfolio, totalling circa 1.6m sq ft, is located mainly in the North West near the metropolitan areas of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield. The French portfolio is entirely located in the Greater Paris region within well-established industrial hubs such as Malakoff, Massy, Palaiseau and Choisy.
InfraRed grew the portfolio to its current size through a series of acquisitions over the course of 2018 and 2019 and carried out several value-enhancing initiatives including the refurbishment of existing assets and development of new space. Around 270,000 sq ft of new warehousing was developed across three sites, the largest one being Raven Locks near Manchester, encompassing circa 172,000 sq ft of modern logistics space.
On the UK transaction, the Osborne Clarke corporate and tax team worked as co-counsel with Taylor Wessing LLP, who advised InfraRed Capital Partners on property, finance and employment matters. Gide advised InfraRed on the French transaction.
The Osborne Clarke team was led by Partner Alison Riddle (Corporate), who was supported by Senior Associate Andrew Carter, Associate Sarvie Banisi and Legal Apprentice Yazmin Adrissi. In addition, Partner Tracey Wright (Tax) and Senior Associate Alex Makinson (Tax) advised on the transaction.
Alison Riddle commented: "We're delighted to have helped our longstanding client InfraRed Capital Partners on their latest deal with Blackstone. Logistics remains a core and extremely active part of our REI Sector focus and our Corporate Real Estate offering at Osborne Clarke."
This deal sits at the cornerstone of Osborne Clarke’s real estate expertise and logistics industry experience. Our logistics sector experience sees us work with businesses across the supply chain from financiers and providers of warehousing, through to transport logistics, retailers and technologists.
