Having acquired the asset in 2021 under their JV with Pictet Real Estate, Marchmont are thrilled to welcome Robus Lighting and LED Group to their new 100K sq. ft. logistics facility in Widnes, taken on a new long-term lease.

Structured as an Agreement for Lease which completed in December of last year, a targeted refurbishment programme delivered an improvement to the EPC from a draft F to a B rating, together with internal and external refurbishment works. The previous racking system was able to be refurbished and certified, preventing waste and helping our new customer make quick use of the facility from Day 1.

At first glance, you could be forgiven for dismissing The Bear as challenging secondary real estate. However, with 40% site cover, 360° circulation, 13m eaves and cross loading offering both level access and dock-levels, The Bear has proven that given a second chance, assets with good fundamentals can punch well above their weight and be reinvigorated with a new lease of life.

A huge thanks to our advisors involved in the process over the past 12 months from conception to completion: to Jack Weatherilt and Andrew Lynn at DTRE and Jon Thorne and Thomas Marriot at B8 for introducing us to Robus, to Kat Terry, Peter Day and Alistair Russell at Osborne Clarke for their legal input in structuring the transaction and to Dan Ashurst at MAPP for project managing the refurbishment undertaken by Contract Services.