AO distribution centre bought for £36m
Tritax’s Big Box REIT fund, which was set up to invest in large logistics assets, has acquired part of AO World’s national distribution centre at Weston Road, Crewe for £36m.
The 388,000 sq ft facility was built in 2006 by Prologis and is let to wholly-owned AO subsidiary Expoert Logistics. AO leased the building in an off-market deal with Prologis in 2016.
Together with another AO warehouse diagonally across the road, the building forms the national distribution centre for the Bolton-headquartered online retailer.
The property is being acquired with an unexpired lease term of approximately nine years, which is subject to five yearly upward-only open market rent reviews, the next of which is due in April 2021.
Colin Godfrey, partner of Tritax, said: “This dedicated e-commerce facility, which plays an integral role in ao.com’s national distribution network, further diversifies our portfolio by tenant and geography.
“Against the backdrop of strong tenant demand and the limited supply of modern big box national distribution assets, this investment offers the potential for attractive rental growth in 2021.”
DTRE represented Tritax on the acquisition.
Tritax said that the property has benefited from significant capital investment by the tenant. The building has an eaves height of 12.5m, an extensive yard area and parking, with a site cover of 49%.
The facility offers access to the M6 and M1 via the A50 dual carriageway, with good connectivity to Manchester and Liverpool airports and the Port of Liverpool. Companies with major logistics assets in Crewe include Bargain Booze, Bentley Motors and Rymans.
