Completion of acquisition

RNS Number : 1969A

Urban Logistics REIT PLC

10 September 2018

 

Urban Logistics REIT plc

("Urban Logistics" or the "Company")

Completion of acquisition

Further to the announcement of 11 April 2018, Urban Logistics is pleased to announce that on Friday 7 September it completed the second of two portfolio acquisitions totalling £36 million from LondonMetric Plc.

As previously announced, the Company's recent acquisition comprised two portfolios. It has now completed the acquisition of Portfolio 2 at an aggregate acquisition price of £16.5 million, representing a net initial yield of 5.8%. The gross consideration including costs for Portfolio 2 was £17.9 million.

Portfolio 2 comprises three well located assets:

§ Northampton - a 45,243 sq ft warehouse let to Encon on an annual rent of £225,000 until August 2023; with a rent review due in September 2018;

§ Nottingham - a 113,717 sq ft warehouse let to Hillary's Blinds on an annual rent of £568,310 until July 2027 (also included is a 2.2 acre land site to the north of the warehouse); and

§ Sheffield - a 54,556 sq ft warehouse let to Cogne UK on an annual rent of £230,000 until September 2026, with a rent review due in September 2021.

As previously announced, the gross consideration for Portfolios 1 and 2 is c.£38.7 million, (including purchaser costs of £2.4 million, principally SDLT and finance costs of £0.3 million) representing a blended net initial yield of 5.9%. The Company is now fully invested following its April 2018 capital raise.

Portfolios 1 and 2 have an average capital value of £72 per sq ft, substantially below the cost of replacement, with low average rents of £4.57 per sq ft and a weighted average unexpired lease term of 5.5 years.

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

"Having fully deployed the investment capital raised in April in another off-market acquisition, we are focused on developing the value of our assets and sourcing new acquisition opportunities to grow the business. Structural demand for well-located urban logistics assets serving the needs of UK businesses remains strong."

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	[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 lettable space in industrial and logistics real estate across the UK, (being more than one third lower than the most recent peak of 2009).

 

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