Industrial giant Prologis has expanded its UK portfolio by acquiring two prime urban logistics estates in Greater London for £200 mln (€236.4 mln).
The two estates, based in Park Royal and Watford, were purchased from Schroders Capital Real Estate and comprise over 362,000 sq ft (33,630 m2) of last-mile logistics accommodation. They are fully leased to occupiers operating in diverse industry sectors including distribution, construction and pharmaceuticals, as well as film and television.
Central Park in Park Royal is an urban logistics park providing 162,000 sq ft (15,000 m2) of space across 10 warehouse units. The estate was developed in 2013 to a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ specification. It has an average weighted unexpired lease term (AWULT) of 5.6 years to break and 6.9 years to lease expiries.
Imperial Park in Watford provides 200,000 sq ft (18,580 m2) of industrial and trade counter accommodation across 15 units, developed in two phases between 2000-2009. It is let to 12 tenants, including Selco, Screwfix, Vodafone and Sigma Pharmaceuticals and benefits from an AWULT of 5.7 years.
Commenting on the transaction, Philip Scott, portfolio manager at Schroders Capital, said: ‘The disposal crystallises strong performance for our client following asset management activity at Central Park where a new tone of rent has recently been achieved. The disposal demonstrates our ability to position assets to meet continued strong demand for prime industrial assets against a backdrop of a more uncertain investment market.’
John Rodgers, head of the UK capital markets and corporate finance teams at Gerald Eve, which advised Schroders Capital on the sale, noted: ‘The market dynamics have changed substantially over the last few months, driven initially from the increased cost of debt. However, the fundamentals driving performance for the industrial sector remain strong with high levels of liquidity for the very best in class assets in the sector.’
See also: European prime logistics rents surge as vacancy rate falls further
