Investor secures urban logistics lettings at record rents

Real-estate investor, LondonMetric Property, has exchanged contracts on two new lettings totalling c. 260,000ft2, in Bedford and Northampton, in the process setting record rents.

It secured a 29% rental uplift at Grange Park, Northampton, after a minor refurbishment on its 86,000ft2 warehouse which it has now let to baby and children’s gifts supplier My 1st Years. The new rent is £7.50/ft2 on a 15-year lease with a 10-year break. The rent is subject to five-yearly reviews of CPI plus 1%.

At its Bedford Link development, LondonMetric has let 172,000ft2 to e-commerce packaging supplier Carlton Packaging, at a rent of £7.70/ft2 subject to five-yearly rent reviews at the higher of CPI plus 1% or open market – a new record. The lease is 15 years with a 10-year break.

The recently developed warehouse is ‘BREEAM Excellent’ and – under the terms of the letting – 250kW of solar PV will be installed.

“These are excellent lettings at what are record rents for the respective schemes and which demonstrate the continued strength of occupier demand for quality warehouse space,” said Mark Stirling, Asset Director of LondonMetric. “They also reduce warehouse vacancy across the LondonMetric portfolio to less than 1%.

“We continue to make good progress with pre-letting the final warehouse at Bedford Link, which totals 360,000ft2 and is due to complete at the end of this year.”