An EPIC £335m portfolio sale

International law firm Taylor Wessing has advised EPIC, an international commercial real estate investment company, on the successful sale of its portfolio of eight UK Logistics investment properties.

The sale of the portfolio to real estate funds managed by Blackstone totalled £335 million and offers over 2.74 million sq. ft. of distribution facilities with a portfolio WAULT averaging nine years.

The portfolio includes the Tesco RDC in Fradley Park Lichfield, the HHGL (Homebase) RDC in Wellingborough, Kuehne & Nagle drinks RDC in Thatcham, Rolls Royce Inchinnan Glasgow, the Argos RDC in Basildon and three Last Mile Regional Distribution Centres in Milton Keynes, Trafford Park Manchester and Tamworth.

Completing the deal on 18 December, the deal was led by Real Estate Partner Adam Marks, Corporate Partner Ronald Graham, Senior Real Estate Associate Christopher Komodromou and Senior Corporate Associate Natasha Cooper. Associates Georgina Watt, Daniel Wigman and Holly Cullen in the real estate team, and Angela Petrevska and Jonny Parker in the corporate team also advised.

Finance Partner Martin Yells provided finance advice with support from Associates Aansa Malik and Jess Richards-Webb. Partners Charlotte Hill and Peter Jackson provided regulatory and tax advice respectively, with support from James Stewart, Julia Steinhardt and Clare Reynolds.

Notwithstanding the complexities with any multi-jurisdictional transaction, the deal was successfully completed within a very short deadline.

Michael Elghanayan, Co-Founder at EPIC, said: "This is an exciting and important sale for us. Taylor Wessing has supported us every step of the way with their invaluable practical and commercial insight, and we are delighted to have had them as our advisors."

Commenting on this latest deal, Real Estate Partner Adam Marks said: "EPIC is a highly respected organisation within the real estate sector and it's always a pleasure to work with them. Following this sale, we believe 2021 will present them with further growth opportunities and we are excited to be working closely with them."

The buyer was represented by Herbert Smith Freehills, with support from Bedell Cristin in Jersey. Ogier assisted Taylor Wessing with Jersey specific aspects of the transaction.

Established over 30 years ago by brothers Michael and Steven Elghanayan, EPIC, operating from offices in London and Manhattan, New York, has built a portfolio in the United Kingdom and the United States encompassing over 6.7 million sq. ft. of office, residential and logistics distribution warehousing investments across 52 properties with a value in excess of $3 billion.