Leslau snaps up business parks bargain for £227m

Published on Thursday 15 October 2009 21:47

A STRING of Scottish business parks has changed hands as part of a £227 million deal backed by property tycoon and Secret Millionaire Nick Leslau.

The portfolio, which includes business parks in Glasgow, Blantyre, East Kilbride and Port Glasgow, sold for about a third of its value at the top of the property market, estimated to be 600m to 700m.

Leslau's investment vehicle, Max Property, which raised 250m on Aim earlier this year in order to buy distressed property assets, bought the portfolio of 85 properties across the UK from administrators Ernst & Young.

The portfolio was put into receivership last year by managers Dunedin Properties after the indebted property vehicle, Industrious, breached its loan covenants.

The Epic Industrious fund, a so-called "commercial mortgage-backed security" (CMBS) backed by Royal Bank of Scotland, is one of the first in Europe to be successfully sold off after the value of its assets fell through the floor.

Nick Scott, partner in the commercial property team at law firm Brodies, acted for Max Property on the sale of the Scottish assets.

He said the deal "will be viewed by many as a sign that the most experienced investors in the market now see significant opportunities to acquire property at historically low prices".

The deal was backed by 127.7m debt from German bank Eurohypo.

Leslau gave away about 400,000 last year when he took part in C4's Secret Millionaire programme, posing as a social worker in Glasgow. He also invested in Travelodge hotels, Alton Towers and property developer McCarthy & Stone through his private investment company, Prestbury.