A Grade A warehouse investment stands or falls on five things: building specification, lease and covenant, location fundamentals, ESG credentials, and exit strategy. Miss any of them and IRR compresses by 100–300 basis points. This checklist covers every item institutional investors verify before committing capital, from clear height and yard depth to CPI indexation and EPC ratings.
Independent credit review of the tenant and any parent guarantor. Investment-grade covenants (BBB- or better) support the tightest pricing. For non-rated tenants, three years of audited accounts and a Dun & Bradstreet risk score are the minimum.
Before signing heads of terms, model the buyer pool at your projected exit date. If your business plan relies on selling to a specific investor archetype (core institutional, REIT, sovereign wealth), verify their live acquisition criteria today. Assets that only work for one buyer type carry meaningful exit risk.
Modern Grade A logistics buildings have a minimum internal clear height of 10 metres, with 12–15 metres preferred for automation-ready sheds. Anything below 8 metres is considered second-hand or obsolete stock.
Most core institutional investors want a WAULT of at least 7 years, with 10+ years for prime pricing. Shorter WAULTs price into the value-add bucket at 100–200 basis points wider yield.
Not yet, but EPC B is effectively the minimum for institutional acquirers in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. Assets below EPC B carry material capex risk to meet incoming 2027–2030 minimum energy efficiency regulations.