Warehouse REIT (WHR) has announced that it has agreed a 375,000 sq ft, ten-year lease renewal at Midpoint 18, Middlewich, with Wincanton Plc, a leading supply chain specialist and one of the largest occupiers in WHR’s portfolio. Wincanton will be paying a new headline rent of £6.50 per square foot, rising to a minimum of £7.00 per square foot at the end of the fifth year. The new headline rent represents an uplift of 28.8% against the previous passing rent and secures £2.4m of contracted rent. The lease includes an occupier break in years three and five.

WHR says that £0.5m of reversion is captured through this lease renewal, bringing total reversion captured in the financial year to date to £2.2m. The transaction extends the portfolio WAULT to expiry from 4.7 years as at September 2024 to 5.1 years on a pro forma basis.

Totalling 725,000 sq ft, Midpoint 18 is the largest asset in Warehouse REIT’s portfolio and is located just off the M6, with access to key international freight lines through Liverpool Docks, the UK’s fourth busiest container port.

Comments from Paul Makin, Tilstone Partners

“We are delighted to have been able to work with Wincanton to satisfy their occupational requirements, with this re-commitment to Midpoint 18 being a strong endorsement of the quality of the space, as well as its strategic location close to the M6 and proximity to key local sources of labour.

“With the supply of both existing and new multi-let warehousing in the UK continuing to be very tight, and occupational markets remaining resilient across a broad range of sectors, Warehouse REIT, with its highly reversionary portfolio, is well placed to capitalise on these attractive market fundamentals.”