Tritax Big Box REIT has completed the sale of six logistics assets to EQT Real Estate for £199m as part of its strategy to recycle capital into higher-returning logistics developments and data centre projects.

The portfolio, comprising big box and urban logistics assets in Leamington Spa, Peterborough, Didcot and Kettering, generates annual contracted rent of £12m and was sold in line with book value.

The disposal is the latest in the company's capital recycling programme, which has delivered almost £1bn of asset sales over the past three years.

Tritax Big Box said the proceeds would be used to fund development-led logistics projects, targeting yields on cost of 6-8%, and data centre schemes, where potential yields could reach 9-11%, while also strengthening the balance sheet.

Frankie Whitehead, CFO at Tritax Big Box, said: "Consistent with our ambition to self-fund our very attractive near-term opportunities, we have been one of the most proactive recyclers of capital in our sector, delivering sales of nearly £1bn over the past three years."

With demand for data centres on the rise across the UK, Tritax Big Box is looking to the sector as a major driver of future growth alongside its established logistics business.

At the centre of its strategy is the Manor Farm development near Heathrow, a hyperscale data centre project with up to 147MW of planned capacity, with an initial 107MW phase expected to begin construction in the first half of 2026 and become operational in the second half of 2027. A second 40MW phase is planned thereafter.

The Heathrow scheme is part of a national data centre pipeline, with Tritax identifying around 1GW of potential future capacity across its land portfolio. The company views data centres as a significant long-term opportunity, benefiting from growing demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence workloads and digital infrastructure across the UK.

Despite the strategic rationale, the market reaction was muted, with Tritax Big Box shares falling by around 2% on the day of the announcement.

The acquisition sees EQT Real Estate expand its UK logistics footprint with around 1.6m sq ft of Grade A warehouse space across key distribution hubs, located close to major transport corridors including the M40, A14 and A1(M).

EQT, which is the real estate arm of a Swedish private markets investment group, said the deal reflected "attractive long-term opportunities in European logistics" and would further strengthen the firm's presence in established UK distribution markets.

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