Investment firm buys stake in White Rose

Orion bought half of the 470,000 sq ft White Rose Office Park in Leeds, which is owned by property investment company Munroe K, for an undisclosed sum.

The transaction comes as Munroe K is planning the next phases of expansion at the 27-acre business park, situated three miles from Leeds city centre.

Munroe K has two existing planning consents for 65,000 sq ft and there is a further 35,000 sq ft of space available at the site, all of which would cost up to £30m to build.

David Aspin, of Munroe K, said he had been looking for an investor for a while.

“On a solo basis, this is a very substantial investment on one of the biggest office parks in the North of England and it makes sense to have someone to come in to help develop future phases,” he said.

He added: “Orion was a terrific choice for me when it came to finding someone with the skill set to support the growth of the White Rose Office Park.

“The acquisition by Orion underscores my belief in the future of the park and gives Munroe K one of the truly forward thinking fund managers to partner, further manage and develop the business park.”

Bruce Bossom, of Orion, said: “We are pleased to have joined David and Munroe K on the successful White Rose Office Park and look forward to supporting Munroe K’s exciting initiatives to support the existing major tenants...as well as future expansion plans.”

The park, which is fully occupied, adjoins the White Rose Shopping Centre and bus station. Tenants include O2, HSBC, DePuy, West Yorkshire Police, the Inland Revenue and WSP.

Last year, Mr Aspin announced he was going to speculatively build the next phase of development, but yesterday he admitted future development would be tenant-driven.

“The market has not moved forward as one would have hoped. We now hope we will be developing in a three-to-five-year period, subject to the market conditions,” he said.

The 27-acre White Rose Office Park was established in 1984 as the UK headquarters and production facility for Systime Computers. Mr Aspin bought it from BAE and established his firm, Munroe K, on April 12, 1995.