11 April 2025
If you are covering the news that LondonMetric Property has made an offer for Urban Logistics REIT, please find a comment below from Oli Creasey, property analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
“Urban Logistics REIT has confirmed today that it has received a preliminary, indicative offer from LondonMetric. While details are limited, the news is not particularly surprising. LondonMetric is known for acquiring smaller REITs, and Urban Logistics fits its typical target profile – a small, externally-managed company (currently in the process of internalising management) with all its properties in the industrial/logistics sector.
“Prior to this announcement, Urban Logistics was the top-performing REIT year-to-date that had not been subject to a takeover bid. This suggests that investors have been anticipating the company becoming a target for some time. This anticipation may explain why the shares have only reacted by approximately 4% today, although the lack of detail around the proposal could also be a factor.
“We have yet to see any specifics, but LondonMetric has acquired several REITs in recent years, typically offering LMP shares in exchange. These deals are usually priced to transact at equivalent discounts to NAV, to avoid favouring one group of shareholders over another.”
