An investment firm set up by entrepreneur Nick Leslau to take advantage of plunging property values in the recession has made its first acquisition.

Max Property has confirmed that it has snapped up a portfolio of 86 distressed industrial properties with over 800 tenants for £245 million.

The estate was bought from Ernst & Young, who were appointed administrators for Industrious Group, which folded last year.

Valued at over £530 million last year, the estate of 120 buildings has since suffered from the crash in commercial property values.

Using a loan and cash to make the buy, Max Property has said that the portfolio is made up of approximately 7.6 million square feet of space and produces an annual gross rental income of around £29.6 million.

Max Property's chairman Aubrey Adams commented: “As a result of the receivership the portfolio has suffered considerably from under-investment for some time now.

“We must focus firstly on stabilizing rents and then increasing them in the medium term, which will afford us many opportunities to significantly enhance capital values over the next three to five years.”