Warehouse in St Helens is sold for £68.7m
Tritax Big Box REIT has agreed to buy a logistics centre in St Helens for £68.7m.
The centre, thought to be an Amazon warehouse, will be bought once planning consent has been approved.
The price represents a maximum commitment of £68.7 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 4.9%, rising to 5.4% at the first rent review in 2024.
The development includes a warehouse with docking on three sides, 360-degree circulation, a roof height of 12 metres and service yards on three sides with 67 metre depths which is wider than the standard institutional specification to improve operational efficiency and access for HGVs.
The new prime warehouse will be constructed to a high specification with an internal floor area of 361,062 sq ft and low site cover of 24% compared to a standard logistics site cover of between 45/50%.
The regular configuration of the site could accommodate a building in total of 700,000 sq ft at a more standard 45/50% site cover.
The site is in a busy logistics area next to the Haydock Industrial Estate, with access directly onto the A580 which provides an East-West link between Manchester and Liverpool and J23 of the M6 motorway.
The site is close to the deep-water container port at Liverpool and to Manchester Airport.
Haydock has a catchment population of 2.5 million people within a 30-minute drive, providing a large workforce to draw from.
Once built the property will be leased on a new 15-year lease, subject to five yearly upward only rent reviews indexed to the consumer price index.
The first rent review will be in September 2024. From completion of the land purchase and during the construction phase to the target date of PC, the company will receive an income return equivalent to the agreed rent from the developer.
The development is being undertaken by Bericote, a highly experienced developer of UK industrial logistics property which the company has an established track record of working with previously.
DTRE represented Tritax.
Colin Godfrey, partner of Tritax, commented: “We worked very closely with the customer and Bericote to deliver this off-market pre-let development, which provides the Company with further exposure to a market leading occupier.
“Once operational, the building will represent one of the most advanced sortation buildings in the UK on a site with very low site cover, whilst further diversifying the company’s portfolio by geography in an established logistics hub with strong labour supply.”
