The aim of the paper is to assess the distinctive drivers of investment performance in the logistics real estate sector and provide insights into the process of change. The study will draw on historic reviews of warehousing patterns and compare it with the current model of logistics encompassing the ‘last mile’. It will look at the implications of technological change on distribution for rental change, development and investment. The research will be based on an interrogation the CoStar Property database to assess the current scale of the real estate sector and identify how it has changed with the advent of ecommerce over the last ten years. This analysis will include a case study of how one logistics company has addressed the ‘last mile’ in a particular metropolitan area. It will draw parallels with the emergence of retail warehouses in the 1980s as its concept evolved through a product life cycle. It is intended to frame the analysis of investment in warehousing over time in the same way, encompassing the interaction between rental growth, obsolescence, risk premiums and yields.