WDP invests €115m in Benelux logistics assets

Listed Belgian logistics specialist WDP is investing around €115 mln to expand its Benelux portfolio with a slate of new acquisitions.

WDP said it expected to realise a net initial yield of 7% across eight sites, seven in the Netherlands and one in Belgium. The company is aiming to realise a €2 bn portfolio by the end of 2016.

The largest new asset is a distribution centre in Tilburg acquired from Fujifilm Europe for €36 mln. The 45,000 m2 asset occupies a site of 8.5 ha and is fully let to ID Logistics on a five-year lease, with an option to extend for a further five years. ID Logistics will continue to run the site as a distribution centre for Fujifilm.

WDP is also spending €25 mln on a mixed-used facility in Zwolle comprising a 23,000 m2 container terminal and a 10,000 m2 cross-dock warehouse. The former is let on a 20-year contract, while the warehouse is let on a 10-year basis to Westerman Logistics. The transaction is expected to close in mid-July.

A further €25 mln is being invested in acquiring the Staay Food Group’s headquarters near Rotterdam in a sale-and-leaseback deal, while four smaller distribution centres are being acquired in Meppel, Bodegraven and Drunen for a total of €6 mln.

WDP is spending €24 mln on acquiring and developing a container terminal in Willebroek, Belgium, in a joint venture with developer M&G Real Estate. M&G will build the 40,000 m2 facility in two phases, completing in the second quarter of 2016.