Hines has acquired a prime logistics park near London’s Heathrow Airport on behalf of the Hines Pan-European Core Fund (HECF) from Aberdeen Standard Investments for £80 million ($105.9 million).
Developed in 2013, the Dnata City site comprises three logistical warehouses that provide state of the art secure air cargo campus facilities.
The 19,418-square-meter complex is located just south of the airport’s southern perimeter boundary and is occupied by Dnata, Heathrow’s dominant cargo operator.
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“The Dnata City site offers excellent proximity to Heathrow. Given the heavily supply-constrained location, we see strong long-term prospects for this prime asset beside one of Europe’s busiest airports, which will be a critical part of the UK’s travel and logistics infrastructure beyond the pandemic,” said Peter Epping, Senior Managing Director and HECF Fund Manager at Hines.
“The Heathrow logistics market boasts defensive characteristics of restricted supply, limited new development opportunities and an acute shortage of Grade A fit-for-purpose accommodation. Dnata City provides some of the most modern cargo facilities within the cargo zone and critically is three to five minutes from the main airport cargo gate. The property is truly critical infrastructure and we look forward to working with Dnata going forward,” said Greg Cooper, Director of Industrials and Logistics at Hines UK.
Hines was advised by Acre LLP and Aberdeen Standard was advised by Savills and DTRE.
Heathrow Airport is the busiest airport in Europe by passenger traffic and a critical part of the UK’s trade infrastructure. 95% of the global economy is within reach of a direct flight from Heathrow. Heathrow Airport has ambitious expansion plans to double its cargo capacity and become one of Europe’s biggest cargo airports, and a stated aim of increasing cargo tonnage by more than 4 million tons a year by 2040. While the majority of the Heathrow logistics market is dedicated to serving the airport, it also forms part of West London’s wider distribution infrastructure including other sub-markets at Park Royal, Feltham, and Poyle.
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