London logistics firm plans to raise £100m for expansion

A London logistics company has announced its intended expansion with the acquisition of several new properties.

Urban Logistics, which focuses on industrial and logistics property investments, has confirmed its proposed plans to raise £100m to aid the acquisition of a set of new properties.

The company is currently in negotiations over the acquisition of three portfolios and 12 single assets, which are expected to have an average net yield of around 6.8 per cent.

Nigel Rich CBE, independent non executive chairman for Urban Logistics, commented: “Since listing in 2016, we have built a portfolio focused on income generation and total returns that exploits the opportunities created by the growing shift towards e-commerce.

“Our sector-leading performance reflects careful stock selection and proactive asset management.

“Having proven our model and assembled a high-quality pipeline of new opportunities, we believe the time is right to increase the scale of our portfolio.”

Richard Moffitt, director and CEO, added: “Mid-box logistics assets at the end of evolving logistics chains are in short supply and offer excellent opportunities for investors seeking exposure to this high-growth sub-sector of the real estate market.

“We are in advanced negotiations on just under half of our £300m pipeline, enabling the rapid deployment of funds raised pursuant to the Issue into accretive high-quality income-generating assets.

“With greater scale, we are confident that we can continue to grow the Company and deliver attractive shareholder returns.”