A 25-YEAR sale and leaseback deal has raised £61m in cash for logistics group Stobart.
The acquisition could rise to £62.5m, depending on the satisfaction of further conditions.
Stobart employs about 1,000 staff at its multi-modal operations in Warrington, Runcorn and Widnes, where it has sold 70 acres of its 165-acre inland port operation to the pensions arm of Legal & General Assurance.
Included in the sale is a new 528,000 square feet state-of-the-art distribution centre, developed by Stobart, which supermarket giant Tesco has committed to use as a northern hub.
Tesco will use the new facility for onward distribution, provided by Stobart, when it extends its recently- launched rail service transporting fresh produce from Valencia in Southern Spain to the UK.
Stobart said the disposal is part of its plan to realise value from certain assets in order to drive further expansion.
The proceeds will more than halve group borrowings from Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays to £45m, while at the same time allowing flexibility to develop future developments, including its ambitious plans for London Southend Airport, which Stobart sees as a key gateway for the 2012 London Olympics.
