Blackrock International Land, the property company spun off from Fyffes last May, has spent €15 million to acquire two properties in east London.

The adjacent properties in the Thames Gateway had the potential for future mixed-use development, primarily residential, subject to the appropriate consents, Blackrock said. The first property is a distribution warehouse of around 4,800 sq m (51,660sq ft) on 3.8 acres. It is currently let to a publicly-quoted company on a lease due to expire in 2009, at a yield of 7.2 per cent per annum. The second property is a 10-acre brownfield site that is currently zoned for industrial use.

"The company is pleased to have secured these attractive assets for its developing UK portfolio and continues to pursue a number of additional transactions at this time," Blackrock chairman Carl McCann said.

Blackrock said the properties would add significantly to its British investment portfolio. When completed, the transactions will bring total investment expenditure by Blackrock since its listing in May to €28.5 million. They also increase its gross property assets by 14.5 per cent.

Shares in Blackrock began trading on Dublin's IEX and London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in May after Fyffes shareholders voted in favour of spinning off the fruit importer's property interests. Last night, they closed one cent, or 2.6 per cent, higher at €0.39 in Dublin.

The company has signalled its intention to expand, with plans to invest €200 million developing its property business over the next two years.

In July, Blackrock bought property in Dublin and Edinburgh for a total of €9 million. It acquired 31 acres of land in the expanding Edinburgh suburb of Broxburn and purchased 34,000sq ft (3,158sq m) of warehouse and office accommodation at Willsborough Industrial Estate in Dublin.

In August, it spent €4.5 million on an office block in England.