InfraRed Capital last night confirmed the £250m sale of its portfolio of last-mile logistics assets in the UK and France to Blackstone real estate funds.

The warehouses, comprising 2.2million sqft of space across 50 Anglo-French properties, located mainly in urban locations near Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield, will be incorporated into Mileway, Blackstone’s pan-European last mile logistics platform.

InfraRed grew the portfolio to its current size through a series of acquisitions over the course of 2018 and 2019 and carried out several value-enhancing initiatives including the refurbishment of existing assets and development of new space. Around 270,000 sqft of new warehousing was developed across three sites, the largest one being the 172,000 sqft Raven Locks project near Manchester.

InfraRed Capital fund manager Andreas Katsaros said: “Over the course of the past year, the impact of COVID-19 has further boosted the development of the last-mile logistics sector. This has allowed us to crystallize exits across the UK and France earlier than anticipated.

“InfraRed has a decades-long, successful track record in the sector and we are pleased to realise value for our investors with the sale of some of our UK and French assets.  InfraRed remains well placed to capture further investment opportunities from the last-mile logistics sector during the course of 2021.”

Emmanuel van der Stichele, CEO of Mileway, added: “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 portfolio as we continue to support our customers, helping them advance their businesses and meet the evolving needs of consumers.”

Acting for InfraRed were Dowley Turner Real Estate, Osborne Clarke, Taylor Wessing, Gide, Hollis and WSM.