Charter Hall noted the Shepparton acquisition would extend the fund’s weighted average lease expiry to 11.2 years at 100 per cent occupancy.
The DIF4 property portfolio includes the 21,000sq m Edinburgh Parks Distribution Centre in Adelaide, leased to poultry producer Inghams, and a 31,000sq m facility in south-west Sydney, leased to global logistics group Mainfreight.
In recent months, DIF4 has deployed over $375 million in acquisitions, providing investors access to leading national tenants including Cleanaway, Tesla, Bunnings and the federal government.
Charter Hall head of industrial development Andrew Simons told The Urban Developer the ASX-listed fund manager’s industrial arm was actively focusing on providing “last-mile” solutions in 2022.
“The standout [in 2021] has been the shift in mindset in the urgency of our tenant customers to adopt automation,” Simons said.
“Pre-Covid the general view was that automation was a good thing to acknowledge and possibly pursue.
“Post-Covid the mindset has changed to automation being something to consider as a priority noting the changing world and the benefits of scale, efficiency and flexibility automation can bring to their businesses.”
Simons said the renewed focus would require significant change to permitted land uses, a need to rethink strategies around zoning, permitted uses, hours of operation and concepts such as multi-level, high density warehousing.
“This will become critical to allow our cities to function effectively in the future,” he said.
The group’s managed portfolio of warehouse and logistics assets, worth $3.4 billion, booked a 9.6 per cent lift in values last year.
Charter Hall currently has a $2.3 billion industrial and logistics pipeline with a focus on Sydney and Melbourne.
