The all-share combination of Tritax Big Box REIT (BBOX) and UK Commercial Property REIT (UKCM) has completed.
UK Commercial Property REIT (UKCM) shareholders unanimously voted in favour of the all-share merger with Tritax Big Box REIT (BBOX) earlier this month.
At the shareholder meeting, 94.6% of UKCM shareholders backed the proposed merger to create a REIT with a market capitalisation of circa £3.9bn.
Colin Godfrey, CEO of Tritax Big Box REIT, said: “The combination complements our big box weighted investment portfolio with high-quality urban logistics assets enhancing our customer offering and driving accelerated rental growth through early capture of significant rental reversion. The liquid nature of the non-strategic parts of the UKCM portfolio is reflected in the number of inbound enquiries we have received which will facilitate the accretive rotation of capital into the development of brand new best-in-class logistics assets.
“We are seeing an encouraging uptick in levels of activity in our development pipeline. Many occupiers that deferred decision making in 2023 have moved forward in 2024 and we have 1.5m sq ft of new development transactions in legals, and a strong pipeline in negotiations. In addition, freehold development sales are expected to contribute at least £15m of DMA income in the year.
“Through rent reviews, lettings and regears we are making good progress capturing the significant reversion within our investment portfolio. In addition, we continue to take advantage of market conditions to selectively acquire mis-priced assets. These factors together with stabilised yields collectively support our positive outlook for 2024.”
In a trading update issued earlier today, BBOX said Q1 take-up of space across its portfolio of assets fell to 4.5m sq ft compared with 6.6m sq ft in Q1 2023. However, the company said it had 14.2m sq ft of space currently under offer compared with 11.1m sq ft in Q4 2023.
