M&G lends £200m against logistics and retail warehousing
M&G Real Estate’s finance team has backed two UK retail warehousing and logistics schemes with £200m in funding.
The investment management firm is providing a £50m construction loan at 72.5% LTV to PineBridge Benson Elliot for the development of two prime logistics sites in Woodford and Enfield, north London.
Both locations have secured planning approval for seven warehouse units, aiming for high environmental standards and delivering 175,000 sq ft, with completion anticipated within 18 months.
M&G Real Estate’s finance team has backed two UK retail warehousing and logistics schemes with £200m in funding.
The investment management firm is providing a £50m construction loan at 72.5% LTV to PineBridge Benson Elliot for the development of two prime logistics sites in Woodford and Enfield, north London.
Both locations have secured planning approval for seven warehouse units, aiming for high environmental standards and delivering 175,000 sq ft, with completion anticipated within 18 months.
In a separate transaction, M&G is providing a £150m loan at 53% LTV to Metrobox, a joint venture between Delancey and Tritax focused on urban retail warehousing, to refinance its existing debt facility.
The loan is secured against four prime urban retail warehouses located in Guildford, Crawley, Luton and Solihull.
London continues to experience supply limitations in logistics, with vacancy rates for grade-A logistics space currently at 5%, reflecting strong tenant and investor demand. Across the UK, industrial asset values have edged up by roughly 1% over the past year.
Vacancy rates in the retail warehousing sector currently stand at around 4.6% nationwide, with the 4.4% rate in July this year being the lowest recorded since 2017.
Dan Riches, head of real estate finance at M&G Real Estate, said: “We are committed to financing prime logistics and retail warehousing assets in strategic locations in the UK and Europe which meet the evolving needs of modern businesses.
“Growth in manufacturing and e-commerce are driving demand for grade-A logistics space and our focus remains on supporting this uptick in sentiment through investments on behalf of our clients that are secured against well-located assets.”
A spokesperson at MetroBox said: “Despite the refinancing exercise being undertaken during an uncertain time in the debt market, we were pleased to see significant interest from lenders.”
