Rush to return Black Friday buys helps to boost LondonMetric

Black Friday may prove a logistical nightmare for retailers, but the boss of LondonMetric Property on Wednesday said the US-inspired shopping bonanza is a boon to warehouse landlords.

Chief executive Andrew Jones said his sheds firm’s tenants have “inevitably seen lots of return orders” from shoppers.

“That means they are dealing with more volumes and more warehouse space is required. Black Friday is a terrific thing for us,” he added.

He said UK online retail businesses which make £1 billion a year in sales typically need 1.2 million square feet of storage and distribution space to cope with deliveries and returns. That compares with 450,000 square feet used by physical retailers.

LondonMetric rental income rose 12% to £44.5 million in the six months to September 30.

The firm revealed a dividend increase of 3% to 3.7p.

Mike Prew, an equity analyst at Jefferies, said: “These are sturdy results with steady growth in earnings.”