UK-based Segro to sell six Italian warehouses to cash in on ecommerce boom

(Reuters) -Britain's Segro Plc said on Friday it was selling six warehouses in Italy for 127.5 million euros ($150.5 million), capitalizing off a pandemic-led boom in e-commerce sales that saw huge volumes of shipments across the world.

The FTSE 100-listed warehousing specialist said it was able to secure property prices much higher than December, adding that it would invest the proceeds from the sale in other parts of its Italian business.

Warehousing specialists globally have benefited from massive shipments of products bought online during the pandemic, outperforming other commercial real estate companies, as people increasingly took to remote working and shopped online.

The six warehouses, with a total floor space of 56,000 square metres, were jointly developed by British warehousing specialist Segro and industrial real estate developer Vailog to support the Italian distribution network of a global online retail company.

The 101-year-old Segro, which operates in eight European countries, has gained from increased e-commerce penetration in the continent as retailers adapt their supply chains and seek more warehouse space to set up larger centrally-located fulfilment centres and smaller urban distribution centres.

($1 = 0.8472 euros)

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)