Aberdeen AM secures £145m debt facility with RBS for airport industrial portfolio

Founded 15 years ago, Aberdeen-managed AIPUT is a £550 UK commercial vehicle focused on investing in and managing a specialist airport industrial warehouse portfolio with a strong focus towards London’s Heathrow Airport.

The Trust provides modern and secure warehouse facilities for global airport-related operators such as British Airways, dnata, Swissport, Gate Gourmet, DHL and UPS.

The new five year £145 million is an extension of an existing facility arrangement with RBS, first entered into in 2010, and involves a revolving element which will allow the fund to facilitate future capital expenditure and acquisition opportunities. AIPUT is a lowly geared “super-prime” fund that offers its institutional investors with an attractive growth opportunity along with a predominantly South East industrial exposure, and Heathrow Airport at its core.

The refinance exercise follows the successful extension of AIPUT until 2036, and allows the Trust to further extend its activity as a key stakeholder around the UK’s primary cargo focused airports. In particular, AIPUT has a number of live development projects and opportunities in the pipeline around Heathrow that will enhance the Trust’s market position and strengthen the airport’s international service capability.

RBS Real Estate Finance is the leading UK Loan House for UK Real Estate businesses with c.11,000 customers from SME to large corporates and c.300 professionals across five regions and two national teams.

Stuart Heslop, managing director of Real Estate Lending, RBS, said: “This is a key UK Portfolio of Real Estate assets and we have been working with Aberdeen Asset Management for the last five years on developing the estate. We have a strong commitment to the real estate market in the UK and we look forward to continuing to work alongside Aberdeen on this dynamic portfolio.”

Nick Smith, fund manager of AIPUT, Aberdeen Asset Management, said: “Establishing stability and managing risk across our portfolio is at the heart of our strategy as we enter 2016. It is testament to RBS’s appetite and understanding of our prime assets that has shaped our successful partnership, and allows us to secure the best returns for the AIPUT investors. The new facility will allow us to seize exciting opportunities over the medium term and meet the strong pipeline of deals across our growing Heathrow portfolio.”