[South Africa] Logistics property fund Equites announces sale of two UK distribution warehouses

The JSE listed specialist logistics property fund, Equites, announced it has sold two high-quality UK distribution warehouses to real estate funds managed by Blackstone for £43.4 million, being a 4.79% net exit yield and 6% premium to Equites’ book value.

The sale proceeds will be re-invested into the development of prime distribution warehouses by the Equites/Newlands JV, with the new warehouses let on 20- and 15-year leases to Hermes and Amazon. This transaction will realise net cash proceeds of £23,679,779 to Equites, while lowering the loan-to-value ratio across its portfolio.

The newly formed strategic partnership with Newlands in the UK has gained significant momentum and the proceeds of this sale will be invested into the premium logistics products that will be developed by the Equites/Newlands partnership. The partnership has recently concluded two development agreements with Amazon and Hermes, with total development costs of £41 million and £72 million, respectively. The two facilities that Equites will ultimately hold will be brand-new premium logistics facilities, built to institutional standards and let to high-quality tenants on long-term leases.

Andrea Taverna-Turisan, CEO, Equites: “We have curated a high-quality UK logistics portfolio since we entered the UK market in 2016, which today has a total portfolio value in excess of £320 million. We look forward to re-investing the proceeds from these disposals into our partnership with Newlands, which currently affords Equites an attractive pipeline of world-class logistics developments in the UK.”

www.equites.co.za