Ashurst and Simpson Thacher lead on £1bn UK warehouse portfolio buy

Ashurst and Simpson Thacher have landed lead roles on Tritax Big Box's acquisition of £1 billion of warehouses from Blackstone, in a deal that will make the US private equity giant one of Tritax’s largest shareholders.

The purchase - comprising around 6.5 million sq ft of warehouse space across 409 units in the UK - is expected to complete later this month.

Logistics as an asset class

The portfolio - which includes nine large distribution centres as well as 32 urban logistics and small-box properties spread across the UK - bolsters Tritax Big Box’s position as the UK’s leading publicly-listed logistics company, lifting its total portfolio value to around £7.9 billion.

Tritax will pay £632 million in cash, funded through new debt, and issue £375 million in shares to Blackstone - giving it a circa 9% stake and making it the FTSE 250 group’s second-largest investor.

Blackstone has been a prolific buyer of UK warehouses, according to Bloomberg, betting on strong demand for space supported by the boom in ecommerce and changes to supply chains which has seen distribution hubs move ever closer to urban centres for quicker delivery times.

Advising

Ashurst advised long-standing client Tritax Big Box on the deal, led by corporate partners Karen Davies (also the firm's global chair) and Simon Bullock.

They were supported by a wider team consisting of partners Christy O'Connell (corporate), Nicholas Moore (banking), Simon Swan (tax), Tim Regis (real estate), Steven Vaz (competition), Crowley Woodford (employment) Eleanor Reeves (environment) and Bradley Rice (regulatory).

Burges Salmon advised Tritax Big Box on real estate matters, with a team led by partner Ross Polkinghorne.

Simpson Thacher acted for Blackstone, led by partners Wheatly MacNamara (real estate) and Lucy Gillett (corporate/M&A).