LondonMetric Property has sold four distribution assets in a £145.3m (€487m) deal, providing the UK real estate investment trust (REIT) further capital to expand its urban logistics property portfolio.
LondonMetric said it has sold a 726,000sqft mega warehouse let to electrical retailer Dixons Carphone in Newark to an international investor for £80.8m and has sold two distribution assets in Doncaster to an overseas buyer for £51.2m
The Doncaster assets comprise a 330,000sqft mega warehouse let to fashion retailer Next and a 176,000sqft regional warehouse let to furniture retailer DFS.
In Rotherham, LondonMetric said a 152,000sqft regional distribution warehouse, let to the Royal Mail, has been sold to a global investor for £13.3m.
The FTSE 250 REIT said as a result of the sale, its big-box warehousing will represent 14% of its portfolio, across three assets.
The company’s income exposure from Dixons Carphone will fall from 6.3% to 3.0% and DFS exposure reduces from 5.4% to 4.3%.
Andrew Jones, CEO of LondonMetric, said: “We have taken the opportunity to respond to global investor demand for distribution warehousing to monetise some of our larger assets in geographies where we expect income growth to be more muted.
“The sales further improve the income diversification of our largest occupiers and provides headroom to invest further into urban logistics, which continues to offer superior income growth prospects.”
