Travers Smith has advised DP World on the transfer of six contract logistics sites serving major grocery customers, with more than two million square feet of warehouse capacity and 2,000 personnel, from GXO Logistics.
GXO's transfer of the sites was a regulatory condition to the UK Competition and Markets Authority's approval of GXO's acquisition of Wincanton. The transaction is therefore a remedy disposal rather than a discretionary sale.
The assets and the customers
The sites — five in England and one in Northern Ireland — serve Asda, Sainsbury's and the Co-operative Group. They will transfer to DP World's UK operations in September.
DP World's UK business includes major container ports at London Gateway and Southampton, alongside logistics, freight forwarding and marine services. The company describes the agreement as a significant milestone in its growth, expanding its contract logistics footprint in the UK and strengthening its ability to provide integrated supply chain solutions for customers in the grocery, retail and consumer sectors.
Why it matters for real-assets allocators
The transaction extends a port operator further into inland contract logistics, moving DP World along the chain from quayside handling towards warehousing and distribution for grocery retailers.
For investors in UK logistics real estate and supply-chain infrastructure, consolidation of this kind changes the covenant profile of the underlying sheds: the buildings do not move, but the operating counterparty and the length and quality of the contract behind them can.
Advisers
The Travers Smith team was led by Head of Corporate M&A and ECM Adrian West and Partner Ella Sharpley, supported by Associate Will Rann and by Technology & Commercial Transactions Partner Richard Brown, Director Michael Ross and Associate Toby Major.
Specialist advice was provided by Employment Senior Counsel Marianne Parkinson and Associate Olivia Rhys-Evans, Real Estate Senior Associate Gideon Caplin, Tax Associate Gemma Williams-Wells and Competition Senior Associate Tom Davies.
Reported by UKFOS from an announcement by Travers Smith · UKFOS editorial publication date 15 August 2026