Tritax Big Box’s leasing activity is back to pre-pandemic levels after last year’s spike.
The REIT said UK lettings totalled 22.1m sq ft in 2023, down from 38m sq ft in 2022. However, it said a further 11m sq ft was under offer at the year end and that take-up had been in line with the pre-Covid average.
Just under 1m sq ft of development lettings added £7.8m of annual contracted rent, at a 6.7% yield on cost, with a further 900,000 sq ft in solicitors’ hands.
The REIT started work on a further 1.7m sq ft of development in 2023, with the potential to add £15.6m per annum to the rent roll at a 7% yield on cost.
A further £110m of urban logistics investments were bought for the portfolio, at a blended net initial yield of 4.2% and an expected reversionary yield of 6.3%.
Over the year the REIT disposed of £327m of assets, at or above book value, delivering a blended net initial yield of 4.3%, and resulting in a £14.1m reduction in contracted rent.
Tritax Big Box chief executive Colin Godfrey said: “Looking forward, we remain confident in our ability to continue creating value, which is likely to be enhanced by an improving market backdrop. With record rental reversion in our portfolio, an attractive development pipeline and strong balance sheet, we are well positioned to deliver further income and capital growth”.
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