The UK logistics sector, in the year to June, has outperformed its average long-term return, according to MSCI.
As investment levels rise, the sector returned 19.6%, according to MSCI’s IPD UK Logistics Investment Report for 2015.
The figure is slightly below the 21.8% return produced over the 12 months previous.
Colm Lauder, senior associate at MSCI, said the sector was among the earliest to show signs of recovery, with gains in capital value emerging sooner than in the broader property market.
The logistics sector has, he said, stabilised in line with long-term trends.
“With the expectation of all other industrials, total returns fell marginally for all investment property sectors compared with the 12-months between June 2013 and June 2014, as the rate of yield compression slows and the market stabilises after a tumultuous recovery,” he said.
Investment levels, according to BNP Paribas Real Estate, which sponsored MSCI’s report, are up 87% when compared with the long-term average.
Hugh White, head of national investment at BNP Paribas Real Estate, said: “Investors continue to be attracted to UK logistics by its long-dated and stable income.
“Given investors’ continued desire for yield in a low-income environment, we anticipate further new entrants appearing in this sector and challenging the established core of experienced pan-European logistics investors.”
BNP Paribas Real Estate found £2.6bn (€3.5bn) of investment in the sector in 2015, with average yields on lot sizes above £20m falling by 112 basis points to 5.4%.
Rental values rose 4.6% over eight quarters, which the company attributed to constrained supply, with only 11 buildings greater than 300,000 sq ft available.
