NFU Mutual sells £234m logistics portfolio to Barings
Barings has exchanged contracts to acquire eight prime logistic assets from NFU Mutual for £234m.
The portfolio totals nearly 1.5m sq ft. By floor area, 53% of the portfolio is located in the Midlands, 22% in the South West, 16% in the South East and 9% in the North West.
E-commerce, manufacturing and freight occupiers include HelloFresh at Central M40 Banbury, GKN at two facilities in Avonmouth, Rolls-Royce at Sherwood Park, Nottingham, Eddie Stobart at DIRFT, Daventry, Eurocell at South Normanton, Countryside Properties at Warrington and the recently developed Deichmann distribution facility at Centrix Park, Corby.
Barings has exchanged contracts to acquire eight prime logistic assets from NFU Mutual for £234m.
The portfolio totals nearly 1.5m sq ft. By floor area, 53% of the portfolio is located in the Midlands, 22% in the South West, 16% in the South East and 9% in the North West.
E-commerce, manufacturing and freight occupiers include HelloFresh at Central M40 Banbury, GKN at two facilities in Avonmouth, Rolls-Royce at Sherwood Park, Nottingham, Eddie Stobart at DIRFT, Daventry, Eurocell at South Normanton, Countryside Properties at Warrington and the recently developed Deichmann distribution facility at Centrix Park, Corby.
Barings said it bought the portfolio as part of a pan-European strategy focusing on core real estate.
Darren Hutchinson, managing director and head of UK real estate transactions at Barings, said: “As one of our preferred investment sectors, alongside offices and residential, we are always keen to explore opportunities in the logistics space.
“We believe the pricing shift in the sector, in particular for CPI-linked assets with cap and collars, represents a short-term relative value opportunity, particularly given the strength of the sector’s long-term fundamentals.
“Having grown our logistics portfolio over the past few years, this acquisition of prime assets in excellent locations, with an impressive and diversified tenant mix, significantly enhances our reach in the market.”
Charles Weeks, head of European and Asia Pacific real estate at Barings, said: “The UK logistics market continues to perform strongly from an occupational perspective and we believe provides robust characteristics to support our longer-term investment strategy.
“Our appetite remains for other core and value-add real estate opportunities in UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the Nordics.”
Jon Brice, fund Manager at NFU Mutual, said the transaction “represents a continuation of NFU Mutual’s industrial strategy”.
Acre acted for Barings, while Burbage Realty and Knight Frank advised NFU Mutual.
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