PROPERTY investment business Ashtenne Holdings has acquired the property portfolio from regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

Ashtenne has paid £53m for the Yorkshire-wide portfolio comprising 48 properties, totalling 155,756sq m of property and about 62 acres of development land.

The properties acquired include several business and industrial parks in the North Yorkshire area.

They include: Walkerville Industrial Estate, Catterick; Hawes Industrial Estate, Hawes; Kirkby Mills Lane, Kirkbymoorside; Leeming Bar Industrial Estate, Leeming Bar; Standard Way Industrial Estate, Northallerton; Reeth Dales Centre, Reeth; Larpool Lane Industrial Estate and Stainacre Industrial Estate, both in Whitby and Holgate Park in York.

The portfolio of properties has a rental value of £4.7m a year, with a further 300,000 sq ft vacant with a potential lettable value of about £1m.

Of the 48 sites included in the deal, 42 are industrial estates, three are office villages, and two are science parks.

The deal follows a competitive bidding process in which there were 35 serious expressions of interest in purchasing the portfolio.

Ashtenne had previously identified Yorkshire as a region in the UK where it wanted to build on its existing assets to create a significant presence.

The acquisition will see Ashtenne open a regional office in Yorkshire, although a site has not yet been decided on.

Ashtenne already has regional offices in Gateshead, Rotherham, Preston, Sittingbourne, London and Merthyr Tydfill in Wales.

Ahstenne was formed by Morgan Jones and Ian Watson in 1989, and has a portfolio of 169 estates across the UK, covering more than nine million square feet of industrial space.

It also owns more than 620 acres of developable land, and a port in Boston.

Mr Jones, joint chief executive of Ashtenne, said: "This portfolio provides significant scope for Ashtenne to add value by working the properties.

"In particular, with a strong regional team, we would expect to reduce the number of vacant properties and invest further in the Yorkshire region."

Eileen Molloy, head of property for Yorkshire Forward, added: "We are delighted to have such an experienced player as Ashtenne entering the Yorkshire property market.

"We are sure they will add value to the region by maximising the potential of this portfolio."

King Sturge and Ambury acted for Yorkshire Forward throughout the disposal.

* In 1999, Ashtenne acquired The Cleveland Trust plc, which boosted its property portfolio by £60m, and gave it an increased presence in the North-East.

In the year to December 31, last year, Ashtenne reported pre-tax profits of £17.1m, up from the £16.8m recorded in the previous year.