Urban Logistics acquires three logistics assets

Specialist logistics company Urban Logistics announced the acquisition of three logistics assets for £22.9m in Huntingdon, Northampton and Fareham on Wednesday, as part of the deployment of the capital it raised in a recent fundraising.

The AIM-traded real estate investment trust said that in Huntingdon, it acquired a 129,222 square foot warehouse from Dart Products for £2.1m, and was spending a further £4.6m on a complete refurbishment of the warehouse, due to complete in May.

Once the refurbishment was complete, the property would be let to a multinational delivery services company on a 15-year lease.

The rent would be £5.38 per square foot, and there would be a five-yearly rent review linked to the consumer prices index, with a cap and collar.

Urban Logistics said the property is located on the St Peters Road Industrial Estate, with access to the A14 and A1/M.

In Northampton, it had acquired a recently-refurbished 49,433 square foot distribution unit for £5.2m at a 5.8% net initial yield.

The site was leased to TransGlobal for a term of 10 years through to 2030.

It said the rent was £6.57 per square feet, and there was an open market rent review in 2025.

Urban Logistics said the site was “well-located” close to the M1.

Finally, at Fareham, it had acquired a “well-specified” institutional-quality 71,160 square foot distribution unit for £10.9m from M&G, at a 6.0% net initial yield.

The site was leased to Amazon UK for a term of five years through to 2025, with a rent of £9.80 per square foot.

Urban Logistics said the site is located near the M27 in an established commercial centre between Portsmouth and Southampton, which it described as “one of the most constrained” parts of the UK logistics market.

“These logistics assets are well located in the Midlands and South East for delivering essential goods the ‘last mile’ to customers and businesses,” said chief executive officer Richard Moffitt.

“In line with our strategic focus, all of these assets are single-let properties servicing high quality tenants and provide excellent opportunities for value enhancement through active asset management.”

At 1223 GMT, shares in Urban Logistics REIT were up 1.41% at 143.5p.