LondonMetric, a prominent real estate group listed on the FTSE 250, has announced significant changes to its property portfolio, involving £70 million in warehouse acquisitions and £50 million in disposals of non-core assets.
On Monday, LondonMetric (LSE:LMP) disclosed the acquisition of seven new warehouse properties. These include a regional logistics warehouse located in Avonmouth, leased to Farmfoods, an urban logistics park in Wednesbury, and five trade warehouses situated across England, which are occupied by building materials tenants. These newly acquired assets come with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 15 years and were purchased at a blended net initial yield (NIY) of 5.8%. The yield is projected to rise to 6.1% over the next two years and to 6.5% after five years. Notably, 91% of the rent from these properties is subject to open market reviews.
In parallel with these acquisitions, LondonMetric has completed the disposal of ten assets obtained through its March acquisition of LXi, as well as one additional asset acquired via the CT Property Trust takeover last August. These disposals were executed at a blended NIY of 7.2% and aligned with the book values recorded as of 31 March 2024.
Chief Executive Andrew Jones stated, "We have been transparent about our strategy to monetize certain assets acquired through corporate takeovers. To date, we have disposed of approximately £100 million worth of LXi assets, with 13 of the 16 non-core CT Property Trust assets also sold at an average of 14% above our original underwriting values."
Jones emphasized that the proceeds from these disposals have been effectively reinvested into high-quality properties within stronger sectors. This strategic realignment is expected to deliver accelerated income growth for the company.
LondonMetric's portfolio shake-up reflects its ongoing commitment to optimizing asset performance and focusing on sectors poised for growth.