Somerset Financial Center, 1405 Route 206, Bedminster, NJ Somerset Financial Center, 1405 Route 206, Bedminster, NJ

BEDMINSTER, NJ—P3 Properties has purchased Somerset Financial Center, 1405 Route 206, Bedminster, NJ from Related Companies. Cushman & Wakefield brokered the trade of the 233,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art office complex, which serves as the New Jersey headquarters of Mallinckrodt, a specialty pharmaceutical company.

Cushman & Wakefield’s investment sales team members Kevin Donner of the New York Capital Markets Group, and David Bernhaut, Gary Gabriel, and Ryan Larkin, of the East Rutherford, NJ, Capital Markets Group, brought the asset to market, targeting select investor entities and procuring P3 as the buyer.

“We knew from the outset that this property would draw strong interest,” Donner says. “In locating there, Mallinckrodt took advantage of this property’s ‘pharma belt’ location, accessibility, surrounding highly skilled and educated labor pool to redesign Somerset Financial Center into a premier work environment. As an investment opportunity, it offered everything that a forward-looking owner/operator like P3 Properties appreciates.” “We approached this acquisition with the goal of diversifying our portfolio and adding another core asset,” says Harvey Rosenblatt, P3’s chief executive officer. “The tenant’s in-place long-term lease provides stability and predictable cash flow, and we love the fact that the property is a wonderful work environment that reflects nearly $50 million in recent improvements.”

P3 will be applying its BLUE brand of management to Somerset Financial Center. “As we expand our role in property management, one of our goals is to leverage resources across our entire portfolio. SFC is located conveniently down the road from another one of our assets, Somerset Corporate Center in Bridgewater, which will allow us economies of scale,” Rosenblatt added. “We believe our unique philosophy and hard work will allow us to continue our excellent performance in the New Jersey office market.”

Cushman & Wakefield’s Equity, Debt & Structured Finance team, headed by John Alascio, Sridhar Vankayala and Zackary Kraft, arranged $42 million in senior financing that was competitively bid out in the market. The group ultimately secured the 10-year fixed-term, 10-year interest-only loan through Rialto Mortgage Finance.

Mallinckrodt, which is growing rapidly via a series of acquisitions, currently houses 480 employees at Somerset Financial Center and is seeking to further consolidate operations there, according to Bernhaut.

“Northern New Jersey represents the world’s largest concentration of pharmaceutical firms,” Bernhaut says. “Within this context, the I-78/I-287 Corridor in Somerset and Middlesex counties has always been a magnet for pharmaceutical development and research facilities. The Somerset Financial Center sale reflects the region’s continued appeal to tenants and investors alike.”