Aver Property, a new partnership between Ergo Real Estate and NFU Mutual, has completed its first transaction with the acquisition of 2 Brindleyplace, a prominent 78,000 sq ft office building on the Brindleyplace estate in Birmingham.
The building was acquired from Hansainvest for £29.25 million, which reflects a net initial yield of 6.5%. Originally constructed in 1997, 2 Brindleyplace is let to Lloyds Bank until March 2022 at a rent of £2 million a year.

Martin Jepson, co-founder of Ergo Real Estate, which is a new value-add property company formed by Martin Jepson and Christopher Cope, said: “2 Brindleyplace is a fantastic first acquisition for the partnership. It is a headquarters office building in an established office market, providing us with opportunities for asset enhancement and rental growth.”

Tom Bostock, Property Investment Manager at NFU Mutual, commented: “We are delighted with the acquisition of 2 Brindley Place, Birmingham, which part seeds our Aver fund and aligns to our strategy with Ergo of investing in a range of opportunities that add diversification and growth potential to our existing prime UK property portfolio”.

The acquisition is in line with Aver Property’s strategy to make value-add and opportunistic acquisitions in the UK of commercial property assets.

Aver Property aims to invest £300 million in the London conurbation, the south east of England and other major UK conurbations. Individual investments are expected to range between £10 million and £50 million and provide the potential for income enhancement through skilled asset management and through capital value growth from repositioning and re-structuring of assets, leases and occupations and uses.

Aver Property was advised by Colliers and the vendor was advised by Corbett Northam and CBRE.