LondonMetric Property locks sights on logistics spaces in recent buying spree
LondonMetric Property has undertaken a buying spree across the city, as warehouse spaces in the capital climb to the top of the property investment agenda.
The FTSE 250 property firm has dished out £26.7m on six logistics sites in the city, as Brexit and the pandemic push businesses to bring their supply chains closer to home.
The London-headquartered business, which focuses on logistics and grocery-led developments, owns around £3bn worth of assets, generating £130.5m of rental income each year.
Three properties, across Colliers Wood, Stratford and Stockwell, have been acquired with vacant possession to be repurposed. While the other three, in Hackney, Acton and Thamesmead, are already fully let.
The sites are anticipated to bring in some £1.2m in rent annually.
It comes as LondonMetric sells an industrial estate in Crawley for £9.5m, which will help fund the string of acquisitions.
Chief executive Andrew Jones called the booming logistics market “incredibly well bid”, adding that the company is “increasing our investment focus towards smaller opportunities in the strongest urban centres.”
“Whilst we seek to avoid unnecessary transactional activity, we will take advantage of strong approaches for assets and dispose of properties where we believe returns are less predictable,” he added.