Acquisition and forward funding of new assets

RNS Number : 9759Q

Urban Logistics REIT PLC

25 February 2019

 

Urban Logistics REIT plc

("Urban Logistics" or the "Company")

Acquisition and forward funding of new logistics assets

Urban Logistics, (AIM: SHED) the specialist UK industrial and logistics REIT, is pleased to announce that it has exchanged contracts with Carbide Properties Limited, conditional on receipt of planning permission, for the forward funding of two high-quality urban logistics assets at Staffordshire's Stone Business Park and Leicestershire's Lime Kilns Business Park in Hinckley (together the "Acquisition").

The gross development value of the Acquisition is £15.4 million and will be financed from the Company's cash resources including the proceeds from two property sales, one of which is expected to exchange in the near future, together with debt from its existing club facility.

The site at Stone will comprise four logistics units with a total gross internal floor area of 86,000 sq ft. Stone Business Park is an established industrial location and benefits from direct access to junctions 14 and 15 of the M6.

The site at Hinckley will comprise two units with a total gross internal floor area of 63,500 sq ft. Lime Kilns Business Park has direct access to the A5 and is close to junction 1 of the M69, enabling easy onward access to the M1 and M6.

During the construction of both assets, which is expected to commence in June 2019, the Company will benefit from a 6.0% interest rate coupon on the forward funding provided. Practical completion for Stone and Hinckley is being targeted for December 2019 and January 2020 respectively.

Commenting on the acquisitions, Richard Moffitt, Chief Executive, said:

"These acquisitions will add high quality new assets to the Company's portfolio at a time when smaller urban logistics sites are in short supply. We have experienced strong interest from prospective tenants and expect to be fully pre-let by the time both assets reach practical completion.

"Today's acquisition is another example of our approach to selecting the right properties, creating value through asset management and recycling capital into new opportunities to deliver sustainable long-term shareholder value."

M1 Agency Fees

At the point the Company completes on the Acquisition, it will incur, on an arm's length basis, a commercial agency fee from M1 Agency LLP which is 1.0% of the purchase price of the land acquired (£22,700). M1 Agency LLP is a partnership in which Richard Moffitt is a designated member. In accordance with Rule 16 of the AIM Rules, fees payable in respect of the Acquisition have been aggregated with all fees previously paid to M1 Agency LLP since 6 April 2018, being the date of the Company's last related party disclosure and associated fairness opinion, in respect of M1 Agency LLP. These aggregated fees total £307,415, and are therefore considered a related party transaction for the purposes of the AIM Rules.

The independent Directors, having consulted with N+1 Singer Advisory LLP, consider the terms of the related party transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned.

Investing policy

The Company is also taking the opportunity to make the following non-material change to a restriction to its investing policy (highlighted below). No other amendments are being made.

"other than any investment properties requiring re-development, the Company will not invest in assets (including development assets) which are unoccupied or not producing income at the time of acquisition unless it is part of or less than 10 per cent. of the Gross Asset Value. The Company may finance development assets using, inter alia, forward funding arrangements;"

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For further information contact:

Urban Logistics REIT plc Richard Moffitt	[phone]
Montfort - Financial PR and IR adviser Olly Scott	[phone]
N+1 Singer - Nominated Adviser and Broker James Maxwell / James Moat (Corporate Finance) Alan Geeves / James Waterlow / Sam Greatrex (Sales)	[phone]
Radnor Capital Partners Joshua Cryer Iain Daly	[phone]

About Urban Logistics REIT

Urban Logistics REIT plc is a property investment company, quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, (AIM: SHED).

The Company has been established to invest in UK-based industrial and logistics properties with the objective of generating attractive dividends and capital returns for its shareholders. Its investment strategy focuses on strategically located smaller single let industrial and logistics properties servicing high-quality tenants. Investment returns will be generated by an experienced management team focusing on quality stock selection and active asset management.

A number of structural and commercial factors currently support the attractive opportunity in the last mile/regional industrial and logistics real estate sub-sectors targeted by the Company, including: strong occupier demand, (driven by the growth of e-commerce and investment by retailers in their associated supply chain) and a decline in the supply of smaller sized lettable space in industrial and logistics real estate across the UK.

 

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