abrdn European Logistics Income (ASLI) has sold the first three assets as part of its managed wind-down for €45.4m.

Sale of warehouse in Oss, The Netherlands

The company has concluded the sale of the freehold of the 12,384 sqm warehouse located in Oss, The Netherlands, for consideration of €15.7m.

The asset, constructed in 2019 and located between the Port of Rotterdam and the Ruhr area, has been sold to the current tenant, Orangeworks.

The sale price was in line with the latest available valuation for Q3 2024 and, following the completion of the transaction, the company has paid down €9.9m of the outstanding €44.2m debt, which is cross collateralised with Ede and Waddinxveen, provided by Berlin Hyp.

Sale of warehouses in Barcelona and Madrid, Spain

The company has also sold two assets located in Spain to Fidelity Real Estate Logistics for aggregate consideration of €29.7m, 11.9% ahead of the Q3 2024 valuation.

The 6,805 sqm building in Coslada, Madrid, was acquired by the company in 2019. It is a cross-dock warehouse built in 1999 and leased to DHL located in a prime location near Madrid Barajas Airport.

The 13,907 sqm warehouse in Polinyà, Barcelona was constructed in 2018 and acquired by the company in 2021. It is located in a prime area within the first logistics ring 20 minutes from the city centre of Barcelona, and is leased to Mediapost.

Of the net proceeds from the sale of these two Spanish properties, €17.7m will be applied in paying down a portion of the €51m ING Bank secured debt, which is cross collateralised with Gavilanes, Madrid, Unit 4 occupied by Amazon, reducing the company’s gearing further.

Continued sales process

Detailed due diligence is ongoing over three assets in the company’s portfolio representing 90,000 sqm of rentable area and further details will be released as sales complete.

Further assets are marked for sale with agents appointed with a view to effecting further sales by the end of June.

Leasing

As previously announced, MCR has relocated and expanded from the company’s Unit 2B asset (7,718 sqm) in Getafe, Madrid, taking up the tenancy at the vacant Unit 3A with increased space of 16,500 sqm. The agreed rent per annum is €1,039,500 for a seven-year term lease with upward only CPI movements. MCR’s previous lease for Unit 2B had an approaching lease break in June 2025.

Simultaneously, Molecor, an international company in solutions for infrastructure, building and waste treatment, took up the tenancy at Unit 2B agreeing a five-year lease with an annual rent of €509,388, with upward only CPI adjustments.

Both leasing deals were in line with the market ERV, reduced the vacancy rate from 6.6% to 3.7% and improved the portfolio WAULT.

The company is in advanced discussions on agreeing terms with an occupier for Unit 3C and is marketing Unit 1B, ahead of the planned disposals in 2025. 

Update on managed wind-down

The Company is in the process of repatriating the net proceeds from these recent sales to the parent company in a tax efficient manner, ensuring no withholding tax issues, and will update shareholders as soon as possible as to the expected timing of an initial return of capital, which is expected later in Q1 2025 at the latest.

The board said that it believes that one of the fairest and most efficient ways of returning substantial amounts of cash to shareholders remains by means of a bonus issue of redeemable B Shares.