Wales largest Industrial Estate, Treforest in South Wales has been put up for sale for £35million less than the current owners Sergo paid for it back in 2006 raising worries about the site future especially when rent from the 130 acre site has dropped significantly since the recession began and major tenants like BBC Wales are due to move out next year.
The estate was built back in the 1930s after the last major financial crash to address high unemployment in South Wales and it would be very worrying if the current recession put a major dent in the viability of the site in the long term.
According to the Western Mail ‘The estate is being marketed for Segro by property agents King Sturge. Head of the investment team at the firm’s Cardiff office, Jonathan Phillips, is working alongside the investment team in London.
Mr Phillips said the estate, which covers around 130 acres, had already received expressions of interest, but as yet no formal bids have been made.
Mr Phillips added: “This is a great investment opportunity for an investor or property company for what is Wales’ largest and leading industrial estate.
“There has been a great deal of initial interest, but we are still in the process of providing detailed information ahead of formal bids.”
Mr Phillips said the estate was in a strong business location because of how close it is to Junction 32 of the M4.
He added: “As the business space offer in north Cardiff has succumbed to residential redevelopment, so Treforest and the neighbouring Parc Nantgarw has attracted occupiers from the office, industrial and trade counter sectors.”
The estate has a current annual rent role of £2.9m, which is understood to be well below the income generated by the estate when acquired by Segro.
The BBC’s current lease of its production facility, where programmes such as Dr Who are made, expires in 2011. In spring 2012 production will be relocated to the drama village at Roath Basin in Cardiff Bay – a development being spearheaded by Igloo Regeneration.
There are currently around 24% of the Industrial Estate’s buildings unoccupied.'
Given the importance of the Treforest Industrial Estate to the South Wales economy in terms of its current occupants, location, wide range of rental opportunities and significant employment, for all our sakes we should hope that a suitable buyer can be found to build on the sites past success and not one that is not simply interested bottom line or there could be more trouble ahead.Any source
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