Urban Logistics owns warehouses across the UK
(Picture: Urban Logistics)Urban Logistics said its rental income soared during the pandemic, as the warehousing landlord experienced high tenant demand for space during a period when online orders jumped.
Chairman Nigel Rich said: “During the worst periods of the pandemic, the high streets were empty with shops and hospitality closed in the successive lockdowns. Household needs were provided by e-commerce. Life will return to the high streets but the trend towards e-commerce, which preceded the pandemic, is likely to continue.”
The company counts Amazon and a number of third-party logistics firms among its tenant base.
Urban Logistics posted net rental income of £22.9 million for the year to March, up from £12.2 million. It said that was driven by rent increases on a comparable basis and from new properties that were purchased.
It agreed a number of acquisitions during the period, contributing to the value of the estate jumping to £508 million from £207 million.
During the year more than 99% of rent due has been collected.
Unlike other parts of the commercial property market, such as high street retail, where a number of landlords have struggled to collect payments due to Covid-19 disruption, warehouse investors have had more success.
Miranda Cockburn, real estate analyst at house broker Panmure Gordon, said: “The urban logistics sub-sector remains well-placed to benefit from ongoing tenant demand and we expect further rental growth given limited supply of space.”
