REG - Warehouse REIT PLC - Major lettings update

Warehouse ReitAnnouncement

12/12/2022 07:01

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RNS Number : 2748J  Warehouse REIT PLC  12 December 2022

12 December 2022

 

Warehouse REIT completes four major new lettings totalling 121,000 sq ft, 7.9%
ahead of ERVs

 

Transactions reduce portfolio vacancy and increase WAULT as UK warehouse
occupier demand remains strong

 

Warehouse REIT ("the Company"), the specialist urban and 'last-mile'
industrial warehouse investor, has maintained its positive leasing momentum
with the completion of four long-term lettings totalling 121,400 sq ft,
increasing portfolio occupancy to 93.3% from 92.7% (as at 30 September 2022)
and increasing the portfolio's WAULT to 5.7 years from 5.4 years (as at 30
September 2022).

 

At Valley Point, Rugby, the Company has completed a 38,600 sq ft lease for 20
years with no break to PWR Europe, a leading developer and manufacturer of
cooling solutions, supplying a range of sectors such as motorsport, renewable
energy, and aerospace. The unit will serve as its new European headquarters.
The lease will generate a contracted rent of £332,400 per annum, equating to
circa £8.60 per sq ft, 11.0% above the 31 March 2022 ERV, and is subject to 5
yearly upward only rent reviews to the higher of open market rent or
indexation.

 

The property is located on the Swift Valley Industrial Estate, a prime West
Midlands industrial hub within the UK's 'Golden Triangle', and benefits from
access to the M6 (J1) and the M1 (J19) in under ten minutes. The letting
follows a substantial refurbishment programme which included LED lighting and
heating upgrades to , improving the property's EPC rating to an A.

 

At Unit 1, Granby Trade Park, Milton Keynes, the Company has concluded a
20,200 sq ft lease for 10 years with no break to Superbike Factory Ltd, a
large motorbike retailer. Serving as the tenant's first dedicated outlet in
the south east, the unit will be used primarily to facilitate its "click and
collect" sales, illustrating the attractiveness of Milton Keynes, the UK's
fastest growing city, as a location at the centre of the Oxford-Cambridge arc.
The lease will generate a contracted rent of £201,800 per annum, equating to
£10.00 per sq ft, 6.6% ahead of the 31 March 2022 ERV. A comprehensive
refurbishment programme of the building has been completed including
significant roof works, external and internal redecorations, installation of
electric vehicle charging points and the upgrading of the lighting to LED,
improving the building's EPC rating from a D to a B.

 

The Company has signed a new lease at Unit 3, Carisbrooke Industrial Estate,
Isle of Wight for a headline rent of £185,000 per annum for 10 years with a
break at 5 years, equivalent to £5.12 per sq ft, 7.7% ahead of the 31 March
2022 ERV. The tenant is a leading manufacturing business. The letting was
subject to refurbishment, repair and improvement works that are expected to be
finished in January 2023, at which point the unit will have its current EPC C
rating reassessed.

 

At Shaw Lane, Doncaster, the Company has been able to satisfy the expansion
requirements of an existing tenant Turners Garage Ltd, by leasing an additonal
5,000 sq ft unit, whilst at the same time extending the term certain on their
existing 21,500 sq ft lease. The combined new letting to the vehicle accident
repair company is on a ten year lease with no breaks, removing the previous
lease's break at year 5. The headline rent is £165,300 per annum, equating to
£6.24 per sq ft, a 4.0% uplift on the tenant's previous lease rate per sq ft,
or 21.4% ahead of the 31 March 2022 ERV on the new unit's letting.

 

Paul Makin, Investment Director of Tilstone Partners Ltd, the Investment
Advisor to Warehouse REIT, commented: "As our continued strong leasing
activity demonstrates, the UK warehouse occupier market remains in robust
health, reflecting the breadth of tenant demand in a market beset by
structural undersupply.  Where rents remain affordable, particularly in the
regions where the Company's portfolio is concentrated, there is no sign of
this supply-demand imbalance easing.

 

"In particular, we are increasingly seeing properties with the highest
sustainability credentials experiencing strong demand and potentially starting
to command rental premiums, as businesses accelerate their own green agendas.
The Company has a near-term pipeline of similar value-add initiatives which
will enhance the portfolio income profile whilst further reducing vacancy."

 

-End-

 

Enquiries:

Warehouse REIT plc

via FTI Consulting

 

Tilstone Partners Limited

Andrew Bird, Paul Makin, Peter Greenslade

+44 (0) 1244 470 090

 

G10 Capital Limited (part of the IQEQ Group, AIFM)

Maria Glew

+44 (0) 207 397 5450

 

FTI Consulting (Financial PR & IR Adviser to the Company)

Dido Laurimore, Richard Gotla, Ellie Perham-Marchant

+44 (0) 7904 122207 / WarehouseReit@fticonsulting.com
(mailto:WarehouseReit@fticonsulting.com)

 

Further information on Warehouse REIT is available on its website:

http://www.warehousereit.co.uk (http://www.warehousereit.co.uk/)

 

About Warehouse REIT

 

Warehouse REIT plc invests in and manages urban and 'last-mile' industrial
warehouse assets.

 

Our purpose is to own and manage warehouses in economically vibrant urban
areas across the UK, providing the space our occupiers need for their
businesses to thrive.

 

As we grow, our vision is to become the UK's warehouse provider of choice.

 

The Company is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and is
an alternative investment fund ("AIF") for the purposes of the AIFM Directive
and as such is required to have an investment manager who is duly authorised
to undertake the role of an alternative investment fund manager. The
Investment Manager is currently G10 Capital Limited.

 

 

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