Property investment business Bradford Estates has completed an acquisition drive which has almost doubled the size of its nationwide multi-let industrial estates portfolio.

Bradford Estates has added a six-unit site in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, to take the portfolio to 15 industrial estates with a combined floor space close to 430,000 sq ft.

When Bradford Estates began an acquisition programme in December 2024 the business owned eight sites totalling 230,000 sq ft.

Bradford Estates has purchased the well-located Oak Beck Way site, which has a combined floor space of 9,710 sq ft and is located just one mile north of Harrogate town centre.

The acquisition adds a range of national and SME businesses including a Medivet veterinary practice, glazing installer Hallmark Windows, a mechanics and a tyre company to the national roster of tenant businesses.

Bradford Estates Property Director Chris Hodson said: “Our acquisition of the units at Oakbeck Way is a great fit for our investment strategy, combining our confidence in the existing Harrogate market together with exciting future opportunities driven by its location adjacent to national retailers and the continued growth of Harrogate along the arterial Skipton Road corridor. 

“Bradford Estates has strong links with Yorkshire, with existing industrial and retail sites in Barnsley, Leeds and Sheffield, so adding a location in Harrogate to our portfolio works on a strategic management level.”

The Harrogate acquisition comes after Bradford Estates recently spent a six-figure sum on upgrading the external features at Wortley Business Park, two miles west of Leeds city centre, which was acquired last year as part of a growth programme to significantly increase the size of its industrial investments.

Totalling 17,000 sq ft, Wortley Business Park is a development of 10 self-contained industrial units purchased by Bradford Industrial, set up by Bradford Estates’ Managing Director Alexander Newport to acquire industrial estates requiring hands-on asset management and refurbishment in a long-term investment growth drive.

In total, the industrial company now owns 15 institutional grade estates across England and Wales, with occupiers including popular brands Screwfix, Halfords, Crown Paints, Euro Car Parts and Plumbase, as well as many regional and local enterprises. Overall, the portfolio has an occupier base which exceeds 100 businesses.

Last year, Bradford Industrial bought six estates including Wortley Business Park, Rowan Industrial Park in Alton, Hampshire, Wear Industrial Estate in Washington, Tyne and Wear, Kilburn Drive in Peterlee, County Durham, Link 49, Boscombe Business Park in Avonmouth on the outskirts of Bristol and 325 Bristol Road in Gloucester.

Alexander Newport summed up this successful campaign: “We are delighted with the quality of our new industrial investments and are now underway with various value creating asset management initiatives to support our return to the investment market again in the near future.”

The main Bradford Estates asset is a 12,000-acre land holding on the Shropshire-Staffordshire borders used for regenerative farming, sustainable forestry, leisure, local housing, SME business space and real estate development.