Clearbell Capital LLP on behalf of its client CP Real Estate Limited (CPRE), has announced the sale of its final asset, The Radius, a 25,000 sq ft retail and leisure scheme in Prestwich, for £3.6m.

Clearbell advised the fund from inception in December 2014 to exit in 2022. Assembling a carefully selected diversified portfolio and providing investors with an annual dividend yield of 4.6%.

The portfolio comprised 13 assets totalling 715,000 sq ft and £102.5 million in value. Clearbell undertook asset management initiatives to maximise returns at each of the assets along with sector rebalancing such as selling out of Kingston retail to increase logistics exposure in 2018. The portfolio achieved a 9.8% total return (2014-22), compared to the MSCI UK Quarterly Property Index for the same period of 7.5%. Upon sale, 98% of the portfolio was let across 48 tenancies. The fund objective was to outperform the MSCI UK Quarterly Property Index by 1% by investing in a balanced, core-plus UK wide portfolio.

Rob West, Partner, Clearbell, said:

“Our decision, taken back in 2014, to go overweight in industrial/logistics and underweight in retail, focussing on assets with low in place rents, has been vindicated by the portfolio’s performance relative to its target benchmark.”

Adam James, Asset Management Director, Clearbell, added:

“This last sale signifies the culmination of a strong performing mandate for Clearbell. I am particularly proud of the impact we made improving the ESG credentials of assets where possible, in line with our sustainable approach to asset management.”

Key fund highlights include:

• An ESG-led refurbishment of the office scheme at 22 Market Street in Maidenhead, including an environmental and wellness-focused specification that resulted in the largest letting in Maidenhead in 4 years during the pandemic.
• Intensive asset management at Bedford Business Centre, which saw over 10 leasing deals during the hold period, capturing short-term leases to drive rental growth in a restricted supply market. The asset was purchased for £4.97m in 2016 and sold to Columbia Threadneedle for £10.43m in January 2022 as part of a £50m portfolio of industrial assets from the fund.
• A trade-up for higher performance in the industrial sector proved successful with the acquisition of Talke 16, an extensively refurbished warehouse/distribution/manufacturing facility located in the Talke area of Stoke-on-Trent, which was purchased using the proceeds of sale from a high street retail asset in Kingston in order to pursue stronger sector performance.
• Festival 57, Basildon – a 57,000 sq ft logistics southeast logistics redevelopment which was pre-let to Xpand Logistics in 2019, featuring EPC A and BREEAM Very Good rating.  
• Clearbell was advised by Gerald Eve on the portfolio disposals.