Belfast Telegaph Property Deal of the Year

Lotus Property says “seeking mismatches in pricing and challenged assets which need actively managed to create added value is our core strengths”.

It won the Property Deal of the Year for its Project Bridges deal – 1.3m sq.ft. property portfolio in Scotland, valued at £80m.

The portfolio consists of 45 assets, with over 350 tenants.

Spanning Dundee, with key assets in Marketgait, West Marketgait, Wester Gourdie industrial estate and Dunsinane industrial estate, the project was considered risk adverse.

More than half the assets are industrial, with a variety of mixed use properties which include retail, leisure and residential combined. Among its most prominent tenants are Travelodge, Pure Gym and Tesco.

“With little to no previous asset management many of the leases were just “ticking on” and tenants holding over” said the company which presented opportunites for Lotus.

“Lotus Property had a business model to target cities that are going through regeneration and have the potential for substantial inward investment”, it added.

The company’s Managing Director, Alastair Coulson, who is originally from Dundee, was keen to acquire this portfolio and so recruited a team of specialists were recruited by Lotus Property to crystallize this acquisition. This was a collaboration of NI firms.

A strategy was established and the deal was completed within three months at an 18% discount.

The judges commented that this was “an outstanding and impressive property deal that consisted of a large number of assets, a complex mix of tenants and which delivered on two major fronts – making a difference to the regeneration of an up and coming city and also a significant return on investment “.

Alastair Coulson, managing director of Lotus Property, said: ” Our acquisition of a 1.3m sq ft property portfolio in Scotland last year was a high point for our company, both in terms of its size and diversity but also because it was our first substantial acquisiton in the Dundee area, and we are delighted that it whas been recognised at the Belfast Telegraph Property Awards. The portfolio includes key assets in Marketgait/West Marketgait, Wester Gourdie industrial estate and Dunsinane industrial estate. Dundeee is going through a really exciting and significant period of regeneration and I am confident that it is primed to become one of the UK’s next property investment hotspots. The composition of the portfolio is very similar to the portfolio we own in Northern Ireland, and coupled with the positive historic experience, market intelligence and the network we have in Scotland this first investment of ours in Dundee is a great platform to build on our presence in Scotland.”