M&G sells Amazon warehouse for £2.8m

Specialist investor Warehouse REIT has purchased the 49,000 sq ft last-mile delivery facility in Widnes for £2.76m, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.3%.

The facility at the Halebank Industrial Estate was owned by M&G Real Estate and is fully let to Amazon Services UK on a five-year lease with a rent of £4.42/sq ft, and includes a two-storey office in a self-contained 2.5-acre site.

It is used as a base for distributing small items being offered for sale via Amazon Marketplace under the online giant’s last-mile delivery distribution model.

Following the purchase, Amazon is now the second-largest tenant on the Warehouse REIT’s rent role.

M&G Real Estate was represented by B8 Real Estate while Savills represented Warehouse REIT.

Andrew Bird, managing director of Tilstone Partners, the manager of Warehouse REIT, said “This transaction is in line with Warehouse REIT’s strategic focus, being located in an established commercial location, close to urban centres and well connected by strong local transport infrastructure – exactly what ecommerce businesses are looking for from a warehouse facility, whilst also enabling us to benefit from the yield arbitrage following recent disposals of lower yielding assets.

“The North West industrial market continues to see record levels of both investor and tenant demand, driven by strong occupational dynamics, a shortage of new development and the continued regional growth of the online retail market.”