International law firm Trowers & Hamlins has advised Urban Logistics REIT PLC (ULR) on its continued expansion with a number of new acquisitions, lettings and lease restructurings.
Trowers acted for ULR on its latest deployment of capital which included the acquisition of five industrial and logistics assets for a total of £48million. This included a portfolio of four assets acquired from Columbia Threadneedle at an attractive yield with income secured by tenants such as Amazon and Volvo Group, together with a warehouse in Thatcham let until 2028 to a storage distributor. These latest additions will complement ULR's existing portfolio and have the potential for further growth by way of mid-term asset management.
Trowers also acted on a letting to 2Exel Limited where a 9% increase on previous passing rent was secured, together with the restructuring of two leases let to Tuffnells Parcels Express which increased WAULT in each case from 4.2 years to 9.2 years.
All transactions were completed on time and within tight timeframes, the Tuffnells restructuring completing within less than a week of instruction.
ULR is a main market listed real estate investment trust that focuses on acquiring and managing last-mile logistics properties. More recently, ULR has been actively implementing a variety of new measures in its acquisition and management of all assets, demonstrating its commitment to ESG. Over the past twelve months, Trowers has worked closely with both fund and asset managers at ULR on their enhanced energy due diligence which is now carried out on all acquisitions. We have also heavily considered and created bespoke energy, environmental and PV panel wording which is now implemented across all new leases and re-gears, solidifying ULR’s commitment to maximising its ESG performance.
Lead Partner Dwynwen Lewis, commented:
"We are delighted to have supported Urban Logistics on its latest round of acquisitions, bringing strong new additions to its portfolio with further prospect for growth by the future asset management opportunities they will each bring. Each transaction required our team to deal with a variety of legal complexities within tight timeframes, on which we delivered. We proposed and swiftly implemented various pre-completion solutions to ensure the standard of assets acquired met with the remainder of ULR's portfolio.
"Across all transactions there was a distinct commitment to ESG with enhanced and innovative measures adopted, both practically and legally. Despite the wider economic backdrop, occupier demand remains strong for ULR's assets and we are currently very active in our management of several sites, including new developments. We have a long established relationship with the team at ULR which streamlines these transactions, as we know their position well. It was great to work with both the ULR team and investment agent, M1, on these; we look forward to many more to come."
