LaSalle Logiport REIT Selling Greater Tokyo Shed to Japan Core Fund for $87M

LaSalle Logiport REIT has agreed to sell a Greater Tokyo warehouse to LaSalle Investment Management’s Japan core fund for JPY 13 billion ($87 million).

LaSalle Japan Property Fund will acquire Logiport Kawagoe in Saitama prefecture with two instalment payments of JPY 2.6 billion next May and JPY 10.4 billion next November, the REIT’s manager said in a stock filing. The 2011-vintage facility sits 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of central Tokyo and spans 53,087 square metres (571,424 square feet) of net rentable area.

The Tokyo-listed trust intends to use the proceeds from the shed sale for high-return investments that exceed the cost of capital and will also repurchase its own investment units “at a price level that offers investment potential”.

“As part of this strategy, we have judged that disposing of the intended disposition asset of over two fiscal periods, the fiscal period ended August 2025 and the fiscal period ended February 2026, and returning the entire gain on disposition as dividend resources to improve the level of distributions will contribute to maximising unitholder value,” the manager said.

Kawasaki Stake Swap

Built by Maeda Corporation, Logiport Kawagoe is a four-storey warehouse near the interchange of National Routes 16 and 254, two key arteries of Greater Tokyo. The property is 99.9 percent occupied by four tenants and generates JPY 689 million in annual operating revenue, according to the manager.

LaSalle Logiport REIT acquired Logiport Kawagoe in 2016 for JPY 11.9 billion, and the agreed sale price is roughly in line with the asset’s independent appraisal value of JPY 12.9 billion.

In an exchange transaction, the REIT plans to divest Logiport Kawagoe while acquiring LaSalle Japan Property Fund’s 15 percent interest in another Greater Tokyo property, Logiport Kawasaki Bay.

The deal will add to the trust’s current 40 percent stake in the Kawasaki shed, which once held the title of Japan’s largest warehouse. Mitsubishi Estate Logistics REIT holds the remaining 45 percent stake in the 289,165 square metre facility.

LaSalle Logiport REIT’s portfolio owns interests in 23 industrial assets across Japan, including 15 in Greater Tokyo, with a total acquisition value of JPY 374.2 billion.

Large Assets Scarce

Both domestic and overseas investors remain bullish on Japan’s logistics market amid favourable rental prospects, according to JLL’s latest Asia Pacific Capital Tracker report.

“However, multi-tenant properties with ramp access, which are in high demand, are scarce,” the consultancy said. “Assets currently available from developers and investors are limited to small to mid-sized properties.”

The whole of APAC saw third-quarter industrial deal volume jump 72 percent year-on-year to $11.5 billion, bringing the year-to-date total to $24.8 billion as the regional market was buoyed by large portfolio transactions, the report said.