AIRCRAFT cabin interior manufacturer AIM Aviation’s manufacturing facility in Bournemouth has been sold to Eastleigh Borough Council for £18.7m.

The premises – located at the Aviation Business Park, an established aerospace and manufacturing hub, adjacent to Bournemouth International Airport – and provides 158,769 sq ft (14,750 sq m) of internal space and is let to AIM Aviation on a 25-year lease which expires in April 2041.

The property was sold to the council by corporate pension fund clients of Savills Investment Management, advised jointly by commercial specialists Savills, AW Associates and Lambert Smith Hampton.

Councillor Keith House, leader of Eastleigh council, said: “This is Eastleigh Borough Council’s first major property transaction outside of the borough and we are very pleased with the acquisition of the AIM Aviation facility providing us with 25 years of unbroken income.

“The lease provides fixed uplift ensuring that the council benefits from growth throughout the length of the lease.

“Our investment in property and the financial return we gain from this has meant that we have been able to protect frontline services and continue to invest in our economy and community.”

James Williams, director of the investment team at Savills, said: “We are pleased to have achieved a successful sale of this asset which our clients agreed to fund a new development in 2014.

“The property is a purpose-built headquarters and manufacturing facility and will support the tenant’s growing global business”

Lucy Winterburn, director of investment at Savills Investment Management, added: “Bournemouth has performed well with the value of long, secure, index-linked income strengthening since terms were agreed to fund the development in 2014.

“The sale crystallises profit for reinvestment into other live development projects in the portfolio.”

The purchase of the development is the council’s first property purchase outside the borough and the second in the past six months, having acquired Regus House at Southampton Airport for an undisclosed sum in summer last year.

The council is also landlord to many other high street names across the Borough including B&Q, Lloyds Bank, Halfords, Costa Coffee, Travelodge and the Ageas Bowl.