90 North Acquires Lash Group HQ Building in Fort Mill, SC Market just south of Charlotte
Chicago, IL (March 1, 2016)— 90 North Real Estate Partners LLP (“90 North”), acting as Property and Investment Advisor, and Sidra Capital (“Sidra”), acting as Strategic Advisor, have announced the $67.1 million development funding and acquisition of the 247,834-square-foot Lash Group headquarters building in Fort Mill, South Carolina, less than 20 miles south of the growing Charlotte, North Carolina business community.
Rob Cochran and Jared Londry with Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group brokered the transaction on behalf of the seller, a joint-venture between Childress Klein and Clear Springs Development Co. This is the second US acquisition for 90 North in approximately 30 days and underscores their strategy of acquiring newly developed or recently renovated, fully-leased corporate facilities in prime suburban markets across the country. Earlier this month, 90 North acquired the $123 million Saint-Gobain campus facility in suburban Philadelphia.
This state-of-the-art office building was completed earlier this month and the tenant has relocated 1,485 employees from Charlotte to Fort Mill. The Class A, registered LEED Silver office building at Innovation Point, Fort Mill, South Carolina. It will serve as the headquarters for The Lash Group Inc., a healthcare consulting subsidiary of AmerisourceBergen Corp.
“This acquisition is yet another example of 90 North identifying and executing a ‘trophy’ credit focused acquisition,” said Daniel Cooper, Partner and Head of 90 North’s North American operations.
“AmerisourceBergen, parent company of The Lash Group, last year was ranked number 16 on the Fortune 500 list, and epitomizes the definition of ‘trophy credit.’
Our ability to acquire this building under a long term net lease agreement, with renewal options, fulfils our investment strategy.”
Project Details
Designed by Rule, Joy, Trammell + Rubio, the Lash Group’s new headquarters building is located at the crossroads of Interstate 77 and S.C. Highway 160. The building is five-stories tall with 50,407-square-foot floor plates and features on-site amenities including a fitness center, conference and meeting rooms, and a lounge area.
The property is adjacent to the Anne Springs Close Greenway, which encompasses approximately 2,000 acres of lakes, forests, and pastures for hiking, biking, kayaking, horseback riding, and camping.
Also adjacent to the campus is Kingsley Village, the 650-acre master-planned walkable destination project from Clear Springs Development, which includes LPL Financial’s 450,000-square-foot regional headquarters, 120,000 square feet of retail amenities, 228 apartment units, a hotel, and a live music amphitheater.
Kingsley Village, the Anne Springs Close Greenway and Lash Group’s headquarters campus are all part of the Clear Springs Plan, an effort from the Close Family to guide sane and graceful expansion of family land in and around Fort Mill. The Close family, which formed Clear Springs Development in 1997, has addressed the future of Fort Mill by offering a mixed-use solution that blends “progress and preservation into a balanced community through integration of smart-growth principles, economic development focusing on quality job creation, and environmental stewardship.”
Lash Group Background
Launched in Charlotte in 1993 as a healthcare consulting firm, the Lash Group designs, develops, and implements patient and provider support programs for healthcare providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The firm has a total of 3,000 employees. It will employ 1,200 personnel at its new headquarters facility while maintaining a significant presence in Charlotte, where its lease expires in 2019.
Growth projections suggest Lash Group may more than double its workforce at the Fort Mill property over the next few years. The company has an expansion option agreement with the developer to build additional space.
Location
Located 20 minutes south of Charlotte and providing immediate access to I-77, Fort Mill, SC is home to a highly rated school district, five golf courses and 325 miles of shore line at Lake Wylie for boating and outdoor activities.
Baxter Village, a walkable downtown area with a creative collection of shops and retail that was the first phase of Clear Springs, is directly across the interstate exchange from this property. Baxter Village surrounds Baxter Town Center, a retail hub that includes a variety of restaurants, boutique shops, fitness amenities, and light medical uses.
The Fort Mill area is less than 20 miles from Charlotte International Airport.
About 90 North Real Estate Partners
90 North is an independent investment advisory firm, specializing in socially responsible real estate investment and with considerable experience working with Shari’ah compliant equity partners. Headquartered in Mayfair, London, 90 North has a US office in Downtown Chicago and a representative office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Since June 2012, 90 North has closed over $1.291 billion (€1.1 billion / £902 million) of real estate transactions, working with its equity partners. For more information visit www.90northgroup.com.
About Sidra Capital
Licensed by the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) in 2009, Sidra Capital is a Shari’ah compliant financial services company located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. At Sidra Capital we concentrate our efforts on Asset Management and Corporate Finance & Advisory. We currently manage assets worth approximately SAR 1.6 billion which are all invested in alternative investments. Our Corporate Finance & Advisory team has completed numerous transactions across a variety of different sectors and have raised capital of around a total of SAR 800 million.
Our strong international strategic relationships allow us to provide the highest level of expertise and market insight to our investors in Saudi Arabia and the GCC, while providing complete transparency in our business operations. Ever a pioneer in the investment world, we have a strong track record in creating innovative and award-winning products. Sidra Capital’s Ancile Global Structured Trade Finance Fund, for example, was the first of its kind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was honoured as ‘The Best Structured Islamic Trade Finance’ by Triple AAA Islamic Finance Awards in 2013.
