LOTUS PROPERTY ACQUIRES SUBSTANTIAL PORTFOLIO IN SCOTLAND WORTH APPROXIMATELY £60M

Lotus Property, a Northern Ireland based property investment company, has acquired a 1.3m sq ft property portfolio in Scotland valued at approximately £60m.

The portfolio, which is made up of 45 properties in total, is predominantly located in Dundee and includes key assets in Marketgait/West Marketgait, Wester Gourdie Industrial Estate and Dunsinane Industrial Estate. Almost 60 per cent of the assets are industrial, with a variety of mixed use, retail, leisure and residential also forming part of the acquisition.

The Marketgait/West Marketgait asset is a modern multi-let mixed use development comprising of a mixture of high spec offices, leisure and retail in the heart of Dundee city centre. Tenants include Travelodge, Pure Gym, Grosvenor Casinos and Tesco Stores Ltd.

Key tenants in the industrial portfolio include Hermes Parcelnet, Encon Insulation, U.P.S and Buckler Boots, with assets ranging in size from 5,000 sq ft to 150,000 sq ft.

Lotus Property is a leading Northern Irish based property investment company with a 20 strong team. As experienced property investors and asset managers across a combined area of +2 million sq ft of shopping centres, retail parks, residential, leisure, offices trade counter and industrial assets, the company deals with the full investment life cycle, including acquisition, active management, reconfiguration, repositioning refurbishment and development, through to sale.

Alastair Coulson, managing director of Lotus Property, said:

“I have been tracking both Dundee and this portfolio for some time and am very excited about the opportunity that this acquisition brings. We know this city well, in fact I was born in Dundee and went to Dundee High School. We have been monitoring what is happening here over the last three years and we have seen major positive changes taking place.

“Dundee is going through a really exciting and significant period of regeneration and we consider the city to be a key growth area in the UK. There is the waterfront regeneration, including the V&A which is bringing an international focus. Combine this with Dundee being a world leading centre of specialist technology, it is a city which is evolving, with a growing population and a desire to stand at the forefront of innovation in Scotland. I am therefore confident that Dundee is primed to become one of the UK’s next property investment hotspots.”

He added: “The composition of the portfolio is very similar to the portfolio which we own in Northern Ireland, and coupled with the positive historic experience, market intelligence and network we have in Scotland, this first investment of ours in Dundee is a great platform to build on.”