Distribution warehouse portfolio snapped up in £85m deal
UK Commercial Property REIT (UKCM) has bought five warehouses in the Midlands for £85.4m.
The acquisition Clipstone Logistics REIT totals 909,030 sq ft and is 100% let to a range of tenants with a low average headline rent of £5.52 per sq ft.
The assets are located on established industrial parks across the East and West Midlands, close to the M1 and M6 motorways, at Cannock, Derbyshire, Leicester, Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-Under-Lyme.
The tenant base includes Clipper Logistics, Roca, Bestway Pharmacy NDC, Rhenus Logistics and TJX UK (the owner of TK Maxx).
Will Fulton, lead manager of UKCM at Aberdeen Standard Investments, said: “We believe that this acquisition is an excellent use of the proceeds from previous disposals, boosting the company’s property yield and balancing our exposure to the industrial sector, which has good prospects for rental growth, through the addition of more diverse and well located regional assets. It will be immediately earnings enhancing and provides income security from strong tenants, many of whom have invested significantly in the properties.
“As the structural changes from the widespread adoption of e-commerce in the UK pervade, a trend which has proven resilient against a backdrop of Brexit negotiations, we expect the outperformance of the logistics market to continue as occupier demand for space remains high.”
