Cain International has marked its entry into the UK logistics market with the acquisition of a £550m (€640.2m) portfolio from Firethorn Trust.
Real estate investor Firethorn has agreed to sell its 3.25m sqft UK logistics portfolio comprising seven sites to Cain.
The portfolio comprises 22 assets, including two newly built developments, and five consented land sites that are on course for completion in 2022 and the first half of next year.
Firethorn will develop the remaining sites and act as leasing and asset manager across the portfolio on behalf of Cain.
Daniel Harris, a senior MD and head of European Investment for Cain International said: “This acquisition was a unique off-market opportunity for us to enter the UK logistics market through a portfolio of considerable scale and quality, as well as with a respected long-term partner.”
This is part of an exciting period of growth for Cain in the UK and follows the firm’s recent announcement that it plans to build a portfolio of purpose-built student accommodation assets worth £1.5bn, Harris said.
“These well-located assets are in a good position to take advantage of both existing and future structural trends as the wider logistics sector looks set to continue its impressive outperformance of recent years,” Harris said.
Peter Mather and Chris Webb, founding partners of Firethorn Trust said: “We have created a strong logistics warehousing pipeline over the last three years in very good accessible locations throughout the UK.
“With a primary focus on developing high-quality, Grade A, sustainable warehousing solutions, our sites are attracting high-quality occupiers, which means strong potential for long-term income and capital appreciation.”
The founding partners said Firethorn is seeking new sites across the UK to develop big-box, mid-box and last-mile logistics warehousing.
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