Shares in an investment fund for specialist markets Tritax EuroBox (BOX) Soared 2% to €1.23, heading for a new high after the company reported a substantial gain on the sale of one of its Polish assets.
The sale of the Lodz site to UK company Savills Investment Management is for EUR 65.5 million or a yield of 4.95% compared to a purchase price of EUR 55 million in April 2019 and an initial yield of 5.8%.
The sale price is also 15% higher than the site’s last valuation at the end of September last year and has delivered a leveraged internal rate of return (IRR) of 16.5% versus the Company’s long-term target of 9%.
The property is currently partially leased to Castorama, the British hardware retailer’s French subsidiary kingfisher (KGF)for around six and a half years, a further 101,000 square meters are available for rent.
Nick Preston, the fund manager, said: “This profitable sale of one of our previous asset purchases, 15% above last book value, has delivered strong returns for our investors and is consistent with our sophisticated strategy of taking full advantage of these trends and crystallizing gains , allowing us to reallocate capital to higher yielding investment opportunities.’
The fund owns another site in Lodz, which it acquired for EUR 52 million in February last year, and intends to invest an additional EUR 15 million in the development of an adjacent retail warehouse site.
Analysts at research firm Liberum commented, ‘The sale is further evidence of strong investment demand for quality logistics assets and will provide positive transaction evidence for upcoming portfolio reviews.
“EuroBox is trading at a significant discount to European logistics peers and we expect a strong re-rating of the shares throughout 2021,” the analysts added.
Issue Date: February 15, 2021
