Register Log-in Investor Type

News

ASLI buys in Barcelona and updates on tenant administration

Aberdeen Standard European Logistics Income (ASLI) has acquired an urban logistics warehouse in Barcelona, Spain for €18.8m and a net initial yield of 3.7%.

The group has also provided an update on one of its tenants, Office Depot France, which went into administration earlier this year. The company said it was increasingly likely that the new buyers of the business would terminate its lease at the Meung-sur-Loire asset.

Acquisition

This 13,907 square metre asset is located in the first ring of Barcelona, within a 25 minute drive (27km) of the city centre, and a net reversionary yield of 4.7%.

The asset has strong rental growth potential, due to its location in a region that has low vacancy rates of 3% (1% in the first ring) and the growth of e-commerce in the country.

The asset, which is located on the Polinyà Logistic Park, was built in 2019 and is fully let to Mediapost, a subsidiary of LA POSTE Group, the French state-owned company, serving as its Spanish headquarters.

The property offers a high-grade specification of c.11.5 metres clear height in the warehouse area, high quality office accommodation, 10 loading docks, LED lighting and a small solar PV installation. The company will seek to enhance the sustainable credentials of the building.

The rental income is indexed from 2023 onwards and ASLI expects to capture rental growth at the first mutual break option in 2026 or at lease expiry in 2029.

This is the company’s third investment in Spain and its first in Barcelona, providing further diversification and taking the portfolio gross asset value to around €500m across 16 assets.

The acquisition has been funded using the company’s credit facility. The debt is due to be recapitalised through the addition of asset level financing on existing loan facilities in the Netherlands where financing costs are amongst the lowest in Europe.

Tenant update

ASLI said it has yet to receive definitive confirmation from the administrator as to the final outcome from the completed sales process of Office Dépôt France, which fell into administration earlier this year, but said it believes that it is “increasingly likely that the purchaser of the business will seek to terminate its tenancy” of the Meung-sur-Loire warehouse.

This loss of income will have an impact on dividend cover for the full year 2021, but the investment manager and the board said they were confident of a “positive outcome for what is a highly attractive asset located in an area with strong demand fundamentals underpinning stable rents”.

The Q4 2020 rent was paid in full and since the appointment of the administrator, the rent due for February and March 2021 together with that due for Q2 2021 has also been paid in full. In total, one month’s rent plus a small element of deferred rent, amounting in aggregate to €258,000, remains outstanding and is not expected to be collected.

The annual passing rent on the property currently represents 5.8% of the overall portfolio’s annual contracted rent, with the company benefitting from a three month rental security deposit held at bank.

The warehouse is located south of Orleans and close to main motorways towards Bordeaux/ Northern Spain and towards Marseille/ Lyon/ Toulouse, in an area which has grown in importance due to the lack of greenfield locations in and around Paris.

Agents have been appointed to find a new tenant and the investment manager said it would provide a further update in due course.

ASLI has held discussions with the asset level lending bank regarding any potential temporary covenant breach, and said the bank has indicated that it is satisfied with the current position thereby avoiding any potential rental income cash traps.

ASLI : ASLI buys in Barcelona and updates on tenant administration

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please review our cookie, privacy & data protection and terms and conditions policies and, if you accept, please select your place of residence and whether you are a private or professional investor.

You live in…

You are a…