London & Westcountry Estates, a commerical property management company has bought a portfolio of 11 industrial estates. The Bridgwater Industrial Portfolio was sold by Gresham Property Partners LP, which is managed by Schroder Real Estate Ventures Group. The acquired industrial estates are ll located in Bridgwater Somerset and comprise more than 100 individual units covering 273,000 sq.ft. The portfolio, which includes Wolseley Centres, MFI Properties, Brandon Tool Hire and City Electrical Factors among its tenants, was sold for £20.4 million representing a yield of 5.7%. The deal was introduced to London & Westcountry by Patrick Neville, a chartered surveyor at The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The bank then continued to support the company with the transaction by providing £15 million through its South West corporate property team. London & Westcountry director Michael Hockin said he is excited by this acquisition of the new estate which fit perfectly with the strategy to expand into Somerset. "The new sites allow us to provide increased flexibility and choice to our tenants, who come from a variety of industries. We pride ourselves in having a hands on management approach with our tenants and the additonal sites will assist us in continuing to provide this service". RBS Director Craig Scott added, "By working closely with London & Westcountry Estates i clearly understood the company's business objectives and was able to work with my colleagues at RBS to deliver a bespoke financial solution to enable the acquisition to take place smoothly and efficiently". Schroders executive director, Joe Froud, said the portfolio was sold due to the high level of investor interest in mutli-let industrials. "During the last 18 months we have sold all our shopping centres and acquired 15 office investments in The City of London Docklands and the Western M25", he added. "We expect to continue this London office focus through 2007 as this is the only area where we anticipate significant real rental growth". London & Westcountry received legal services from Stones, led by its head of Commercial Property Chris Rundle. Chris Rundle said this is not the first time the firm has worked with the company having advised on several of its previous acquisitions. He added "London & Westcountry Estates has a refreshingly straightforward appraoch to pragmatic approach to transactions which is consistent with our own approach and proved invaluable in driving through the deal despite the inevitable complications which as part and parcel of any portfolio of this size.