Wirefox acquires £35m Scottish office portfolio

The Rockford portfolio includes nine out-of-town office blocks within various first-class business parks surrounding Glasgow City Centre, comprising 384,146 sq ft of prime office space that is home to a range of blue-chip businesses.

The suite of properties purchased by the Co Down firm includes the current IBM base in Cumbernauld, three buildings at Trilogy Business Park, housing NCR and Laing O’Rourke, and 1 Forrest Gate at Tannochside Business Park, which is home to Kwik-Fit Financial Services and Hoover.

Also included in the deal are Phoenix House, let to Daisy, and Nevis House comprising four floors of vacant Grade A office space, both in Hamilton International Business Park, and GSO Business Park in East Kilbride, where EDF Energy and RES are among the tenants.

“The acquisition of such an extensive and high-value office portfolio, following soon after the £18m purchase of Silvan House in Edinburgh, further extends Wirefox’s ever-growing UK presence,” said director of investment Steven Flannery.

“Rockford is the latest example of our long-term strategy of recognising value-add investment opportunities, and we look forward to adding significantly to our office portfolio in the future.”

As well as acquiring Silvan House, a major Grade A office building in Edinburgh which includes almost 90,000 sq ft of prime office space currently let to the Scottish Government, Wirefox last year bought the Southergate Centre, a major retail-led asset in Dumfries town centre.

Commenting on the latest deal, director of asset management Michael Wright said: “The tenant profile throughout the Rockford portfolio is extremely strong and we look forward to working with our tenants to ensure their working environment remains of the highest quality.

“Our reputation for first-class asset management continues to grow with every investment as the market recognises our position as a leading property investment and development firm.”

Derek Paterson of DPL, a specialist investment property advisor, acted for Wirefox in the purchase of the £35m portfolio.