Warehouse owners cash in on the online boom

THE lockdown online shopping boom has kept rent collection steady for the warehouse giants Segro and Tritax Big Box.

The logistics landlords have managed to dodge the anguish facing property owners in other sectors, particularly retail.

Property investor Segro has received around 93pc of the £37m rent due in advance for the third quarter of 2020, which runs between July and September.

FTSE 100-listed group said it had been given 98pc of rent for the second quarter.

And smaller peer Tritax Big Box expects 97pc of rent due for the third quarter to come through, after banking 96pc of cash from tenants that was due for April to June.

The relative stability of the warehouse groups stand in sharp contrast to problems property investors are grappling with in other industries. Shopping centre owners in particular are fighting to claim back cash from strugby gling tenants. Shareholders, however, largely shrugged off the upbeat news.

Segro slid 0.7pc, or 6p, to 909p, while Tritax edged 0.7pc higher, up 1p, to 146.3p.

Elsewhere in the logistics industry, Wincanton got a slight boost, rising 0.6pc, or 1p, to 182p, from securing a two-year extension to a contract with Asda.

Wincanton will manage warehouse and trucking operations across sites in Doncaster, Larne, Rochdale, and Wigan. The pair have worked together since 2005.

The FTSE 100 closed lower, falling 0.6pc, or 33.74 points, to 6156.16, and the FTSE 250 sank 1pc, or 164.8 points, to 17,185.24, despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiling a £30bn spending spree intended to turbo- charge the fragile economy.

Restaurants, estate agents and housebuilders are all set to benefit from the latest round of Government pledges.

But flagship policies such as the stamp duty holiday had already been widely reported, with housebuilder shares booming earlier this week. Persimmon rose 0.9pc, or 21p, to 2433p, while Barratt

Developments edged 1.2pc lower, down 6.4p, to 522p.

And pub shares lost their fizz after VAT cuts of 5pc were not extended to alcohol, with Mitchells & Butlers falling 9.4pc, or 16.2p, to 156p and Wetherspoon down 3.1pc, or 31.5p, to 975.5p.

HSBC was knocked back 2.9pc, or 11.5p, to 383.65p as US officials mulled proposals which could limit the ability of Hong Kong banks to buy dollars.

Increases in coronavirus cases and the simmering tensions between the US and China sent gold prices surging above $1,800 per ounce for the first time since 2011, as anxious investors flocked to the safe-haven metal.

Puretech surged after announcing a group in which it owns a 46pc stake, Sonde Health, is launching an app to help people go back to work during the pandemic. It will give them instant guidance on whether they are well enough through an analysis of the user’s voice, a Covid questionnaire and a body temperature reading.

A voice sample picks up respiratory symptoms which, combined with the other information, could flag up if someone is sick.

Sonde’s technology is already being developed to recognise if someone has depression. Puretech climbed 8.3pc, or 22p, to 288p.

Over on AIM, Blackwood’s Gin and Redleg Spiced Rum maker

Distil surged 9.1pc, or 0.1p, to 1.2p, after it forecast revenues will increase by as much as 85pc between April and September compared with last year.

Turnover climbed 21pc between April and June as Britons drank at home during lockdown.