HARWORTH Group, a leading regenerator of land and property for development and investment, has sold a drive-thru retail unit at the entrance to its flagship Logistics North development in Bolton, to Fenwall Investments Ltd for £1.23m.

The 1,787 sq ft unit was built by Harworth in July 2017 and immediately occupied by Costa Coffee on a 15-year lease following practical completion.

The sale continues Harworth’s active churn strategy of selectively disposing some of its more mature income-generating assets to reinvest in higher-yielding commercial property.

Fenwall was represented by Hyatt On Property, whilst Harworth was jointly represented by JLL and B8 Real Estate as retained agents for Logistics North.

David Travis, director of business space at Harworth Group plc, said: “This is a great deal for Harworth Group and our Income Generation portfolio, providing yet another example of how the company crystallises value from its’ direct developments to maximise NAV growth for the business.

“Our focus for the remainder of 2018 is to let all remaining speculative space currently available at Logistics North, including M&G’s 174,940 sq ft “Logistics 175” unit and the two remaining units within our first phase of “Multiply” that we are bringing forward in Joint Venture with the Lancashire County Pension Fund.”

Bob Hyatt, director at Hyatt on Property who acted for Fenwall, said: ”The Logistics North “drive-thru” represents another high-quality investment for Fenwall’s national portfolio.

“In a highly-competitive bidding process we are pleased that Harworth recognised not only the value of the bid, but also the track record of the professional team engaged by Fenwall & led by Hyatt on Property, on its UK-wide investment strategy.

“Interest in the investment demonstrated not only the quality of the overall development, but also the demand for prime assets & the clear appeal of the “drive-thru” sector.”

John Burrows, Investment Surveyor at B8 Real Estate, said: “The exceptional strength of the location of the property, at the front of this pre-eminent Logistics North development, has also been reflected in the strong price achieved.

“Not only does the Costa benefit from the ever-increasing workforce across the 2.5m sq ft of business space at Logistics North already built but, together with the adjacent Aldi and Green King Pub, acts as a leisure destination and valuable service stop-off for commuters on the M61.”

The sale of Unit A3 is the latest in several deals completed by Harworth at Logistics North in 2018, the North West’s largest live commercial development.

It began this year by letting its remaining 27,884 sq ft ‘R-evolution’ unit to Vaclensa Limited on a ten-year lease at a then-headline rent of £7.00 psf.

This was shortly followed in April by Multiply Logistics North, the joint venture between Harworth Group plc and the Lancashire County Pension Fund, securing Hardscape Products Limited as its first tenant on the 163,376 sq ft first phase of its ‘Multiply’ scheme with the occupation of the 44,868 sq ft Unit F2/A on a 15-year lease.