LondonMetric focuses on retail in the third quarter

LondonMetric continued to ride the e-commerce wave in the third quarter in a shift towards retail that the property investor expects to pay off in the coming year.

The FTSE 250 company, which enjoys 99.5% occupancy in its core portfolio, said occupational and investment markets were continuing to strengthen and it expected to benefit from further capital recycling across the portfolio before its financial year is out.

The recent repositioning of investments showed LondonMetric driving 90% of its investments towards its core sectors of retailer-led distribution and out-of-town retail properties.

LondonMetric undertook £362.1m of investment activity between October 1 and January 26, of which £344.4m had been previously announced.

Nine properties, costing a total of £157.8m, were acquired in the period, with an average yield of 6.1%. The group also completed £61.6m in retail disposals, with an average exit yield of 6.3%.

"The £362m of investment activity undertaken during the period has strengthened our portfolio further, whilst providing greater alignment to the growth of e-commerce through retail-led distribution assets and the convenience of click and collect offered by our out-of-town retail portfolio," said LondonMetric chief executive Andrew Jones.

"The occupational and investment markets are continuing to strengthen and, against this backdrop, we expect to benefit from further capital recycling across the portfolio, reinvesting proceeds into retail led distribution and retail warehousing, where we can benefit from our strong occupier relationships," Jones added.