North East industrial estates owner UK Land Estates has been acquired by one of the world's largest property investors in a £425m deal.
The purchase, understood to have completed this week, will see GIC take a majority stake in the commercial property landlord and developer which owns Team Valley, Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate and Teesside Estate, among other locations.
It means US-based joint venture partner Northwood - which acquired a stake in the UK Land Estates portfolio in 2014 following its buyout of Highcross - will exit the business.
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It is thought that GIC has invested with intentions to grow the North East business, in what will be seen as a significant vote of confidence in the region's property market.
This year, the major investor - which was set up in the early 1980s to manage Singapore's foreign reserves - has already completed a £694m deal to acquire 75% of British Land's Paddington Central assets.
In 2021 GIC made one of the largest European industrial estate transactions ever when it acquired 132 logistics properties totalling 2.2mn sqm from EQT Exeter for $3bn.
UK Land Estates itself has continued to invest in recent months, most recently with work underway on a £4.5m speculative industrial scheme at Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate which will provide 4,485 sqm of space for a range of occupiers.
The firm was set up by Chris Whitfield in 1990 with just a single unit in Ryton. It has since grown to become 28 estates across the region, including its three largest - Team Valley Trading Estate, Tyne Tunnel Industrial Estate and Teesside Estate - which are home to some 800 businesses.
UK Land Estates also has a developments team that specialises in regeneration of brownfield sites on its estates, and has built properties to specification for occupiers as well as speculative projects.
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