LondonMetric Property has acquired £70m of warehouses and sold £50m of non core assets.
The £70m of acquisitions consist of seven warehouses with a WAULT of 15 years, acquired at a blended net initial yield of 5.8%, rising to a minimum of 6.1% over the next two years and 6.5% after five years, with 91% of rent subject to open market reviews. They comprise:
- A 182,000 sq ft regional logistics warehouse in Avonmouth let to Farmfoods Ltd acquired through a sale and leaseback for £26.4m and with five-yearly rent reviews to the higher of open marker or CPI+1% compounded annually;
- A 211,000 sq ft fully let urban logistics park in Wednesbury acquired from a pension fund for £25.0m with a low site density of 21% and immediate asset management opportunities through open market reviews; and
- Five trade warehouses in Leeds, Derby, Swindon, Bolton and Farnham totalling 113,000 sq ft, acquired for £18.9m and let to Travis Perkins (two), MKM (two) and Jewson.
The £50m of disposals consist of 10 former LXi assets and a former CTPT asset, which have been sold at a blended net initial yield of 7.2% and in line with 31 March 2024 book values. They comprise:
- A 169,000 sq ft Compass training centre in Milton Keynes sold for £23.7m;
- A 34,000 sq ft car show room in York let to Vertu sold for £10.5m;
- A 34,000 sq ft self-storage asset in Basildon let to Lok’nStore sold for £10.0m;
- Seven care homes sold for £3.2m; and
- An 18,000 sq ft Nissan car show room in Doncaster sold for £2.5m.
Andrew Jones, chief executive, commented: “We have been very clear on our desire to monetise some assets acquired from our corporate takeovers. We have now sold c.£100m of LXi assets, with 13 of the 16 non core CTPT assets also sold at an average of 14% above our original underwrite values.
“We have successfully reinvested these proceeds into high quality properties, in stronger sectors that will deliver accelerated income growth.”
