Sassan Ahsani's LRE Capital supports SME businesses at heritage development at Humber Enterprise Park

1. Draft press release (December 1, 2015)
With photo
CHARLIE CLEANS UP WITH CITVALE & LRE CAPITAL AT HIS OLD WINDOW
ROUND
A Hull businessman, who started out cleaning windows at BAE Systems at Brough, has
bought a 135,000 sq ft warehouse on the site of his former round.
Charlie Kraanen, who owns Dutch Imports and Daughters, is moving his business to the old
Operations Hanger at Brough, now part of the pioneering 79-acre Humber Enterprise Park.
Mr Kraanen, together with his 15 staff, will be relocating his garden furniture and ornaments
company to Brough from their present headquarters in Wiltshire Road, Hull.
“It is a dream come true, coming back to where I started out in my working life,” said Mr
Kraanen. “But I haven’t done this out of sentiment. We have relocated to the Humber
Enterprise Park in Brough because it is a fabulous place to work, where the facilities and
location are superb. Our new warehouse, for example, is second to none; it’s where the
aeroplanes were kept and, as a result, is a quality building.
“This new warehouse is almost five times the size as our present warehouse. It took two years
to find, but we are now finally able to increase our stock levels, allowing us to offer our
customers a better and wider choice of new and exciting products,” explained Mr Kraanen.
“But it is important to stress that we are wholesalers and won’t be selling to the public at
Brough.”
Mr Kraanen bought the new warehouse for an undisclosed seven-figure sum. He originally
came to Humberside from Holland in the late 1970s and fell in love with Karen, now his
wife. After a number of temporary jobs, including cleaning the windows at BAE, he and
Karen set up Dutch Imports 25 years ago. Now his daughters, Charlene and Lynsey, who is
married to Olympic Boxing champion Luke Campbell, also work at the company.
“These are exciting times for our company. As garden furniture and ornaments wholesalers,
our markets in the UK, Europe and the US are expanding and flourishing as the global
economy recovers. We badly needed this extra space and we are lucky indeed to have found
it in such splendid surroundings which just happen also to have some special memories for
me”, he said.
Humber Enterprise Park was recently launched by LC Industrial, a tie-up between LRE
Capital and Leeds-based business space specialist Citivale.

2. The park includes 1.3 million sq ft of high-quality office and industrial space, 20 acres of
development land and benefits from Enterprise Zone and Assisted Area Status which offers
significant incentives to attract new occupiers.
So far £2.5 million has been spent on regenerating the whole site, described as “a jewel in the
Humber’s crown” with another £4.5 million earmarked for further improvements. It is
estimated that 1,600 new and sustainable jobs will be created when the park is fully
developed during the next five years.
James Appleton-Metcalfe, Managing Director of Citivale, explained: “It gives us immense
pleasure to welcome Charlie and his company Dutch Imports and Daughters to Brough. It is a
romantic story, given that Charlie used to clean the windows at BAE as a 20-year-old, and it
is a testament to what he has achieved since, that he has returned as the proud owner of his
own warehouse.
“More generally, we are exceptionally excited about this unique development, which will
create a new thriving business community with breath-taking views on the banks of the
Humber.
“We believe that our competitive rents and unrivalled working environment will prove
attractive to a whole raft of different occupiers. For example, a company moving here, and
taking 5,000 sq ft of space, would save over £500,000 over a five-year period compared with
other office developments in the area.
“LREC and ourselves are keenly aware that our park should not just be a place to work, but
also a proper community where to life can be enjoyed. So we are creating a running track on
the perimeter of the site; a heritage museum, paying tribute to the rich history of aircraft
manufacturing here; green spaces and allotments; break-out areas and spaces for art; and a
fitness suite.”
The five office buildings, named Hawk, Firebrand, Mercury, Buccaneer and Bluebird after
aircraft which were built on the site, range from 4,582 sq ft to 18,090 sq ft. They will be
ready for occupation in April next year.
The marketing agents for the Humber Enterprise Park are Commercial Property Partners
(CPP) of Sheffield, JLL of Leeds and PPH of Hull.
Toby Vernon of CPP commented: “LRE Capital & Citivale have a very clear and attractive
vision for the Humber Enterprise Park, which will put Brough back on the map again. Apart
from the first-class facilities on site, the well-located park is close to Brough Station, with
trains running directly to London, and minutes away from the M62. The interest in the site,
for both the offices and the industrial units, has already been extremely encouraging.”
Ends

3. About LRE Capital
LRE Capital (LREC) is a leading real estate investor and advisory company headquartered in
London founded by Sassan Ahsani in 2006.
LREC is an active asset manager, investing on behalf of institutions, high net worth
individuals and family offices from across the globe. We invest in direct property, indirect
real estate vehicles and also in the real estate debt market.
LREC seeks to create superior returns and long-term value for our investors through its
detailed stock selection process and strategic asset management expertise across all real estate
sectors.
More details can be found on our website: www.lrec.co.uk