Blackstone’s second United Kingdom logistics commercial mortgage-backed securities this year has priced a little sharper than the earlier, similar one during the summer, underlining continued investor interest for the sector.
The £187 million Class-A notes in Stark Financing 2023-1 priced at 220 basis points over the Sterling Overnight Index Average benchmark rate compared with 235 basis points for the £145 million Class A notes of Last Mile Logistics CMBS 2023-1 UK. The loan to value of the Class A notes rose slightly from 34% to 35.6%.
The CMBS, arranged by Bank of America and Deutsche Bank, refinances the debt for the acquisition of Industrials REIT, which Blackstone took private in a £700 million deal in June.
The debt is backed by a £617.4 million portfolio of 103 industrial and logistics properties across the United Kingdom. The biggest property is the Dana Trading Estate in Kent followed by Compass Industrial Park in Liverpool.
The 7.1 million-square-foot portfolio produces £39.6 million in net operating income, reflecting a 6.4% yield.
Blackstone reopened the CMBS market in August with Last Mile Logistics CMBS 2023-1 after the market froze in May 2022, when HSBC pulled a £380 million student accommodation CMBS, due to rapidly rising interest rates and economic uncertainty caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.