Mileway, the leading pan-European last mile logistics real estate company, has added 50 prime properties to its platform through a £250m transaction with InfraRed Capital Partners.

The UK element of the portfolio totals 1.6 million sq ft of space across Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds, further building out Mileway’s presence in the North of England. The properties are occupied by leading domestic and international household names including Amazon, FedEx and Boots. Mileway’s portfolio in the UK now totals approximately 47 million sq ft of space across more than 685 assets.

The properties in France comprise 0.6 million sq ft of space and all are located in highly sought-after locations in the Paris region, within close proximity to the Périphérique, the inner orbital ring around Paris. Through this acquisition, Mileway will add French manufacturing and logistics conglomerate Daher, Swiss Post, the national postal service of Switzerland, and luxury watch and jewellery manufacturer Richard Mille to its diverse list of customers in France. Mileway’s footprint in France now totals approximately 17.1 million sq ft across more than 185 assets.

“This transaction further strengthens Mileway’s last mile network as we continue to support our customers, helping them advance their businesses and meet the evolving needs of consumers.”

Emmanuel Van der Stichele, CEO of Mileway

Since launching in September 2019, Mileway has rapidly grown its portfolio of last mile properties across Europe. The company acquired over €3bn of real estate in 2020 and this year has already added €1.3bn. Mileway now owns and manages more than 1,500 properties across 10 major economies in Europe.

Demand for last mile real estate across Europe continues to strengthen, in part driven by the significant growth in online sales over recent years. ONS data shows that in the UK, online sales as a proportion of total sales increased from 19% in 2019 to more than 27% in 2020, before jumping to 35% in January 2021, the highest level on record (1).

Emmanuel Van der Stichele, CEO of Mileway, commented: “We’re delighted to have secured these exceptional last mile assets from InfraRed. A key priority for Mileway has been building a market-leading in-house transactions team which has helped us establish a reputation as purchaser of choice among vendors. This transaction further strengthens Mileway’s last mile network as we continue to support our customers, helping them advance their businesses and meet the evolving needs of consumers.”

(1)Source: ONS Retail sales, Great Britain January 2021