The planned 50:50 venture would bring together logistics parks in Radlett, Coventry and Northampton, three strategically important UK distribution locations. Once fully developed and let, the sites are expected to provide around 925,000 sq m of logistics space and generate about £135m in headline rent.
For the UK logistics market, the announcement is a reminder of how valuable large, well-connected warehouse sites have become. Demand for modern distribution space remains closely tied to e-commerce, retail supply chains, urban delivery networks and, increasingly, access to rail freight infrastructure.
Three major sites on the M1 corridor
SEGRO says the joint venture would initially include 225,000 sq m of fully leased, income-producing assets, currently generating around £25m in headline rent. The portfolio would also include around 380 acres of developable land.
The sites are located in Radlett, Coventry and Northampton, giving the proposed venture exposure to some of the UK’s most important logistics corridors. The M1 remains a key north-south freight route, linking London with the Midlands and the wider national motorway network.
Northampton and Coventry are already well-established distribution locations, while Radlett is particularly significant because of its long-running strategic rail freight interchange project. That gives the wider plan a stronger multimodal angle than a standard warehouse development story: the future value is not only in shed space, but in the ability to connect large-scale warehousing with road and rail distribution.
Read more: More sheds, more lorries: UK warehouse growth puts HGV operating centres in the spotlight
SEGRO intends to sell the three parks into the joint venture for around £1bn. Further development spending is expected to reach about £820m, with the full programme due to be delivered by 2030.
A capital-efficient way to build out the pipeline
The timing is notable. SEGRO has just rejected an all-share takeover proposal from Prologis, which valued the UK-listed warehouse landlord at about £12.6bn. Under the proposal, SEGRO shareholders would have received 0.084 new Prologis shares for each SEGRO share, implying a value of 925p per share based on market prices at the time.
SEGRO’s board rejected the approach, arguing that it undervalued the company and its development pipeline. Prologis, meanwhile, has argued that a combination would create a larger, better-capitalised logistics real estate platform.
The new joint venture can therefore be read as more than just another property deal. By bringing in an institutional partner, SEGRO can release capital from existing assets while retaining exposure to future development and rental growth. In other words, it gives the company a way to fund part of its warehouse pipeline without selling the whole business.
SEGRO chief executive David Sleath said the partnership would bring together some of the UK’s most attractive logistics parks in a capital-efficient structure, while also strengthening the company’s investment capacity.
Why warehouse land remains strategic
The proposed venture also highlights a broader trend in UK logistics real estate. Large-scale, well-located warehouse sites are increasingly difficult to assemble, particularly near London and the Midlands. At the same time, occupiers continue to look for modern space that can support faster delivery, automation, fleet electrification and more resilient supply chains.
That makes sites such as Radlett, Coventry and Northampton especially valuable. They offer the combination that logistics operators and major retailers increasingly need: motorway access, proximity to population centres, development scale and, in some cases, rail freight potential.
The Prologis approach has put a spotlight on SEGRO’s valuation, but the warehouse story underneath may be more important for the logistics sector. The battle is not only about who owns SEGRO. It is also about who has the capital to build the next generation of UK distribution infrastructure.
Prologis now has until 22 July to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for SEGRO or walk away under UK takeover rules. Whatever happens next, SEGRO’s latest move shows that the UK warehouse market remains a strategic prize — and that prime logistics land along the country’s main freight corridors is still attracting serious money.
