Blackstone ups bet on UK ecommerce warehouses

Private equity firm agrees £120m deal to buy 22 logistics sites as online shopping soars

Private equity firm Blackstone has agreed a £120m deal to buy 22 logistics sites across the UK as online shopping soars in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Blackstone’s purchase of the portfolio from Clearbell Capital, a private real estate fund manager, follows last week’s £4.2bn swoop by rival firm KKR for UK recycling company Viridor.

As mergers and acquisitions dry up globally in the face of the pandemic, private equity investors have continued to be relatively active, betting on sectors such as infrastructure and logistics.

“There will be deals that will fall away, but if the fundamentals are strong on the underlying assets, the deals will occur,” said Manish Chande, senior partner at Clearbell. “We’re not all headless chickens.”

Blackstone’s latest UK acquisition is further evidence of its conviction that ecommerce and delivery services will be an ever larger part of the retail market.

Private equity firm Blackstone has agreed a £120m deal to buy 22 logistics sites across the UK as online shopping soars in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Blackstone’s purchase of the portfolio from Clearbell Capital, a private real estate fund manager, follows last week’s £4.2bn swoop by rival firm KKR for UK recycling company Viridor.

As mergers and acquisitions dry up globally in the face of the pandemic, private equity investors have continued to be relatively active, betting on sectors such as infrastructure and logistics.

“There will be deals that will fall away, but if the fundamentals are strong on the underlying assets, the deals will occur,” said Manish Chande, senior partner at Clearbell. “We’re not all headless chickens.”

Blackstone’s latest UK acquisition is further evidence of its conviction that ecommerce and delivery services will be an ever larger part of the retail market.

Source: Financial Times

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