Latest news with #Segro
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
LondonMetric buys Urban Logistics for $925 million
BENGALURU: British property company LondonMetric is to buy Urban Logistics in a 698.9 million pound ($924.99 million) cash and stock deal, creating one of the country's largest property investment groups by market capitalisation. LondonMetric made its first proposal for Urban Logistics in April and raised the bid a week later. The final offer represents a 22.2% premium to Urban Logistics's closing share price on April 10, a day before the proposal was publicly confirmed. "The Urban Logistics consider the terms of the acquisition to be fair and reasonable," the company said in a statement. LondonMetric will be valued between four billion pounds and five billion pounds after the merger, solidifying its position among the top five largest UK-listed REITs. Currently, Segro holds the top position with a nearly 9 billion pound market cap, based on LSEG data. Real estate investment trusts or REITS own and also often operate income-producing real estate, including offices, apartment buildings and shopping centres. M&A activity in Britain has picked up in the last few months as investors returned to London markets, attracted by lower valuations and the government's efforts to ease regulations and boost investment. A bidding war for European logistics real estate firm Tritax EuroBox kicked off late last year, as Canada's Brookfield Asset Management and Segro rushed to buy the company, highlighting strong investor demand for logistics and warehouse assets. Under the deal, Urban Logistics shareholders will receive 0.5612 newly issued LondonMetric shares plus 42.8 pence in cash for each share held, valuing its stock at 150.3 pence apiece. Urban Logistics shares were up 3.7% at 151 pence in early trading, while LondonMetric was up marginally at 0.2%. Following completion, LondonMetric shareholders will hold about 89% of the combined company and Urban Logistics shareholders will hold about 11%.
Reuters
14-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
UK's Segro plans data centre strategy shift as AI booms
Feb 14 (Reuters) - Segro (SGRO.L), opens new tab, which has historically offered data centres equipped only with power connections, plans to develop full-fledged facilities to directly serve major cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google in a bid to shore up rental income. The largest-listed European property company is looking to capitalise the surge in demand for data centres, a trend fuelled by the growing reliance on AI systems, which require specialised infrastructure like high capacity power supply and advanced cooling systems. Typically, Segro leases out data centres to firms that add infrastructure such as chillers, generators, and dividing walls before sub-leasing to tech companies, which then add their own technology. Under the new strategy, the London-based company will lease data centres fitted with required infrastructure directly to end users. "A 'powered shell' might cost 50 million pounds ($62.9 million) to build, whereas a 'fully fitted' data centre could require around 500 million pounds. However, rental income could jump from 5 million pounds to 50 million pounds," Segro CFO Soumen Das told Reuters. Segro currently earns about 650 million pounds in annual rent from its broader portfolio, and Das added that a single fully fitted data centre would have a noticeable impact on overall revenue. The group, which mainly owns big box and urban warehouses among other assets, has 34 'powered shells', all in London and Slough, accounting for 8% of its overall portfolio. The London- and Paris-listed firm said it is planning for its new data centres to also incorporate 'fully fitted' facilities, but did not provide additional details or a timeline. However the new strategy comes with a trade-off, with Das saying fully fitted spaces would depreciate faster than the 'powered shells', potentially impacting long-term performance. ($1 = 0.7948 pounds)
Reuters
14-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Warehousing group Segro upbeat on occupier demand after 15% profit jump
Feb 14 (Reuters) - Segro (SGRO.L), opens new tab said on Friday that a pickup in occupier activity seen during the final months of the year carried into the early weeks of 2025, after the pan-European warehousing group reported a 15% jump in 2024 profit.
