Mapletree shells out at least $1b to snap up major UK business park

Its UK portfolio is now valued at $2.8b.

Mapletree Investments has acquired Green Park, a 79-hectare business park located in Reading, United Kingdom.

The property was sold by Oxford Properties at a price tag of at least £560m ($1.1b), UK media reports. Including Green Park’s acquisition, Mapletree ‘s portfolio in the UK is now valued at £1.4b ($2.8b).

The deal is part of Mapletree’s strategy to broaden its portfolio in developed markets such as the UK.

Green Park is a freehold business park within a well-landscaped campus setting that has approval to provide about 2.1 million square feet in lettable space. Currently, some 1.4 million sq ft of Grade A offices across 19 buildings have been built, and have a strong occupancy of 93%.

Among Green Park's tenants are multinationals such as PepsiCO, Huawei, Quintiles, Veritas and Cisco.

“Mapletree’s acquisition of Green Park is aligned with our current five-year business plan to acquire quality, income-producing assets with long weighted average leases to expiry which are anchored by a strong tenant base, to give us stable and growing yields," said Hiew Yoon Khong, Mapletree’s group chief executive officer.

Oxford will work with Mapletree until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition of the property.