Aviva Investors, on behalf of its long income real estate fund, has invested £107m (€122.5m) to buy three UK logistics warehouses from clothing retailer Next in a sale and leaseback deal.
The £346bn asset manager said it has completed the acquisition of the three logistics warehouses through its Lime Property Fund.
The three distribution units are located in South Elmsall, between Wakefield and Doncaster, and together total more than 110,000sqm of floor space.
As part of the deal, Aviva Investors will lease the units back to Next.
Launched in 2004, the Lime Property Fund is a long income real estate fund with a net asset value of £2.7bn, as at the end of last year.
The fund targets property investments that provide inflation-linked or fixed rental uplifts let to tenants on leases of over 15 years, cross-sector, UK wide.
Renos Booth, head of real estate long income at Aviva Investors, said: “We are pleased to have acquired these assets and to have agreed on a sale-and-leaseback arrangement with Next, allowing access to a robust portfolio of warehouses, with a high-quality tenant.
“We believe that the logistics sector will continue to be resilient in the longer-term, as retail firms enhance their distribution capabilities. Our expectation is that these types of assets will, therefore, be strong contributors to performance in our portfolio.”
