Charity acquires Black Country warehouse

An industrial unit in the Black Country has been acquired by a charitable foundation.

Parallel 113, work on which was completed early last year, has been bought for an undisclosed fee by the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation.

The foundation is based in Greater Manchester and awards grants to charities across the UK and Ireland to support worthy causes. Parallel 113 is in Darlaston Road, Walsall, and covers 113,641 sq ft and has 106 parking spaces.

It has been let to an unnamed tenant which is yet to move in. The seller was St Francis Group which is based in Henley-in-Arden and led the development of the building.

Derwent Estates manages the foundation's property portfolio which is used to generate income to be distributed as grants.

It spans more than 2.8 million sq ft of commercial property including 2.1 million sq ft of retail and leisure space.

Property director Jonathan Black said: "The acquisition of Parallel 113 is the foundation's first in the West Midlands.

"This supports its investment strategy of diversifying the portfolio, both by sector and geographically, which is predominantly made up of retail warehouse schemes across the North of England.

"We are delighted to secure this newly built, modern industrial building on a long lease that will ultimately generate income for the charity and the good causes it supports for years to come."

St Francis Group's chief executive Rob Braid added: "The sale of Parallel 113 marks the conclusion of a successful business plan for the asset.

"Having remediated the land, St Francis Group committed to a speculative development of the unit and secured a strong letting post its completion.

"The project aligned with the group's core strategy of delivering high-quality residential and employment sites."

Property agencies CBRE and Savills advised on the acquisition.