Kennedy Wilson pays c£228m for UK last mile logistics assets
New York-listed Kennedy Wilson has acquired a diversified portfolio of 20 urban logistics assets in the UK from logistics specialist Leftfield Advisors for $287 million (about £228 million).
The assets are situated in strong urban logistics locations including London and the South East, Yorkshire and the Midlands. The portfolio is 100% occupied and rents are significantly less than current market rates according to Kennedy Wilson.
Kennedy Wilson has ownership of 20% of the 1.3 million sq ft portfolio and invested $24 million of equity in the deal itself.
The firm has acquired more than 41 industrial assets in United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain since January 2022, an investment of $645 million including $167 million of deals under contract. It also has a pipeline of deals that will bring the overall European industrial platform to 98 assets.
Total European industrial AUM is expected to grow by 61% year-to-date, from $1.1 billion to $1.7 billion, which will be secured by approximately $900 million of mortgage debt.
“This acquisition provides access to a diversified portfolio of strategically located urban logistics assets,” said Kennedy Wilson’s UK head Mike Pegler. “With sector take up in the first quarter of the year surpassing 10 million square feet for the first time since 2018, we expect robust ecommerce growth, a continued supply-demand imbalance and resultant rental growth to further enhance industrial capital values.”
Leftfield Advisors’ CEO Nico Fourie said that, in addition to digital adoption,” partial deglobalisation is driving onshoring, nearshoring and reshoring, making logistics assets ever more critical in the pursuit of greater supply-chain efficiencies.”
