Tritax EuroBox plc (LON:EBOX), which invests in Continental European logistics real estate assets, has agreed two new leases. The first is the successful letting of Unit 1 (14,150 sqm) of the 28,300 sqm speculatively developed Settimo asset in Italy. The second is a new seven-year lease for Unit 3 (8,300 sqm) at Bochum, Germany. Collectively, these leases secure an additional €1.3 million in contracted rent and de-risk income previously subject to rental guarantees.
Settimo Torinese, Italy: successful letting of speculatively developed 14,150sqm asset
· The letting is for unit 1 at the Company’s 28,300 sqm two-unit development, well-located adjacent to the A4 “Turin-Trieste” motorway in Settimo Torinese, 14km east of Turin and 125km west of Milan.
· Six-year green lease, which includes a further six-year extension option and includes annually reviewed inflation linked uplifts.
· Rental level in line with Estimated Rental Value (ERV) and consistent with the development funding underwrite – signed within three weeks of practical completion of the building.
· The unit is let to a leading Italian logistics specialist.
· The building targets a BREEAM Very Good rating, and includes a roof-mounted solar PV scheme and other sustainability features that reduce the environmental impact.
· Brownfield regeneration of a former tyre manufacturing warehouse, with the completed development improving the local environment and providing new employment opportunities for local communities.
Bochum, Germany: asset management secures new seven-year lease 32% above the current passing rent
· The new letting is for unit 3 at the Company’s four-unit prime asset located near Bochum, in the Rhine-Ruhr region of Germany, a core, established logistics location.
· Agreed a new seven-year green lease (with a three-year extension option) with 100% CPI indexation reviewed annually.
· The letting is 32% above the current passing rent and 16% ahead of the ERV as at 31st March 2023.
· The unit is let to a German specialist catering equipment company.
· Green lease clauses agreed, committing the customer to use the building sustainably, along with an obligation to share resource usage data.
Company commentary
Phil Redding, CEO of Tritax EuroBox plc, commented:
“These lettings, combined with our recently announced asset disposal in Hammersbach, Germany, provide further evidence of the successful delivery of our strategy. They demonstrate strong occupier demand in Italy as well as robust ERV growth in Germany, which we have been able to capture as we pursue the portfolio’s 15%[1] reversionary potential. These leases highlight our ability to target the embedded opportunities within our portfolio and secure additional income from our assets.
“The high-quality nature of our portfolio is reflected in the pace at which we are able to let newly developed assets and the rental levels we are achieving. Through asset management activities we are adding long-term rental income to the portfolio at attractive levels from high-calibre customers.”
Tritax EuroBox plc invests in and manages a well-diversified portfolio of well-located Continental European logistics real estate assets that are expected to deliver an attractive capital return and secure income to shareholders. These assets fulfil key roles in the logistics and distribution supply-chain focused on the most established logistics markets and on the major population centres across core Continental European countries.
Occupier demand for Continental European logistics assets is undergoing major long-term structural change principally driven by the growth of e-commerce. This is evidenced by technological advancements, increased automation, and supply-chain optimisation.
The Company’s Manager, Tritax Management LLP, has assembled a full-service European logistics asset management capability including specialist “on the ground” asset and property managers with strong market standings in the Continental European logistics sector.
