Tritax Big Box REIT has pre-let a 2.3m sq ft logistics scheme in east London to Amazon.
The company received planning consent last week for the building in Littlebrook, Dartford and announced today it has exchanged contracts with the world leading online retailer.
The scheme, which covers 35.5 acres adjacent to the QEII bridge and Dartford tunnel, includes three mezzanine levels and is due to complete in summer 2021.
Amazon is an existing tenant of Tritax Big Box and now represents 19% of its total contracted rent roll across 7m sq ft of space.
Amazon has signed a 20-year lease, subject to annual upward only rent reviews indexed to the Consumer Prices Index (collared at 1% pa and capped at 3% per annum) with the first review in Summer 2022.
The total development cost for the scheme is expected to be £205m, with a further £164m costs to completion to come from existing credit facilities.
[QD comment: Tritax Big Box acquired the site of the former power station in July 2017 and its proximity to central London makes the site appealing to ecommerce occupiers looking for ‘last mile’ locations. During the covid-19 pandemic, ecommerce companies such as Amazon have seen a spike in demand for services with all but essential retail closed down. The trend for online shopping has accelerated as a result. The signing of Amazon is a coup for Tritax Big Box and a definitive sign, if one was needed, that the logistics sector is thriving.]
BBOX : Tritax Big Box pre-lets 2.3m sq ft scheme to Amazon