Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has invested more than £100 million on UK industrial real estate sites, saying investors were turning to the sector as a result of Covid-19.
The largest transaction involved a £58 million portfolio of industrial estates based in South East England purchased from PFC Property.
The firm has also acquired self-storage units in Bury and Lichfield, and a retail park in Stevenage, for a combined £20 million.
LGIM said investors had concerns over the lack of activity in the retail and office market sectors as a result of Covid-19.
Furthermore, the rise of e-commerce and a scarcity of “high-quality, well-located” industrial assets has created a significant supply-demand imbalance.
The deals mean that the Industrial Property Investment Fund managed by LGIM Real Assets now has more than £2.5 billion in assets.
Jonathan Holland, senior fund manager at LGIM Real Assets, said that the fund is planning to invest £200 million over the next two years on urban logistics and self-storage facilities and will consider an equity fundraise to finance the projects.
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