DHL has confirmed the sale of the main Wilko distribution centre in Nottinghamshire, just two months after it bought it.
The logistics giant bought the 1.1m sq ft Worksop site for £48 million in November and was leasing it back to the high street retailer.
Wilko initially struck the arrangement in order to free up cash for investment across its 400-plus stores and digital channel.
The GMB union says DHL has now sold on the site on the Manton Wood Enterprise Park to Canadian asset manager Brookfield for £88 million.
In a statement a spokeswoman for DHL Supply Chain said: “While we do not discuss the commercial aspects of our business dealings, we can confirm that we have successfully concluded the sale of our East Midlands campus to Brookfield, which we have now leased back on a long term basis.
“This relates solely to Wilko’s Worksop distribution centre.”
The spokeswoman has been asked to explain how both DHL and Wilko are both leasing the site.
Brookfield has also been approached for comment by BusinessLive.
At the start of the month Wilko announced it had secured £40 million from restructuring specialist Hilco and shaken up its leadership team following losses.
Last week it announced 95 customer service jobs were at risks under plans to outsource the work to a third party provider.
The GMB union said it felt the sale of the Worksop site reflected what it called the “ever-growing influence of private equity investors in the UK high street”.
It wants the Competition and Markets Authority to have greater regulatory oversight in relation to private equity buyouts to ensure “greater protection of both consumers and workers”.
GMB National Officer Nadine Houghton said: “The sale of Wilko distribution centre to Canadian investment and private equity giant Brookfield and the recent Hilco revolving credit facility raises further concerns about the ever-growing influence of private equity investors in the UK high street.
“Highly debt leveraged models are being used to buy up the UK high street with little or no oversight from regulators.”
According to its website Brookfield owns and operates “high-quality assets and businesses around the world”.
It says it has more than $750 billion of assets under management, employing more than 150,000 people in more than 30 different countries.
