The sale of City office block One Carter Lane, EC4, will almost double LondonMetric’s cash resources to £100m, the REIT said this week.
Updating the market on its half-year results, the group reported an increase in net asset value to 128.5p in the six months to 30 September, up from 111.8p a year earlier. Profit rose by 58% to £69.7m.
LondonMetric, which invests primarily in out-of-town retail and distribution properties, said it was benefiting from a “structural shift” in shopping patterns, as convenience and online retailing grows.
Cash resources, boosted by the sale of non-core offices and residential assets from LondonMetric’s portfolio, will be used to expand its retail industrial holdings.
Chief executive Andrew Jones said: “The repositioning has seen us invest further into distribution centres, which account for 35% of our total assets. These investments will allow us to benefit from the increasing appetite from retailers to upgrade their supply chains and offer us long-term income with excellent growth potential.”
Jones said he expected distribution centres to comprise 50% of the group’s portfolio in a year’s time.
