Investcorp has acquired 32 industrial properties totaling approximately 3.5 million square feet across four major U.S. markets for a total capitalization of over US $280 million. The properties grow Investcorp’s wider U.S. industrial real estate portfolios to approximately $2 billion with 22 million square feet comprised of more than 260 buildings.
The portfolio includes a brand new, state of the art building leased 100 percent to a leading multinational Fortune 100 company. The properties comprising the portfolio are primarily located in the major industrial markets of Chicago and Cleveland, which rank as the first and 11th largest industrial markets in the US, respectively. Additional MSAs comprising the portfolio include Columbus and Cincinnati.
“The global COVID-19 pandemic has further underscored the importance of industrial real estate assets located near major population and logistics hubs,” said Herb Myers, managing director and co-head of real estate North America at Investcorp. “We are excited to enhance our wider industrial real estate portfolio through the acquisition of these highly occupied properties in desirable industrial markets. E-commerce sales are experiencing accelerated growth, and is expected to generate between 400 million to 1 billion square feet of excess demand for industrial space over the next several years. We believe these properties align with our disciplined criteria for targeting stable, cash flow generating assets with further upside potential.”
The latest acquisitions provide Investcorp with a new 96 percent leased portfolio of Class A and B warehouse, distribution and flex industrial buildings with a diversified tenant base across a range of industries, including healthcare, logistics, e-commerce, industrials, telecommunications and food services, among others.
“Industrial, warehouse and logistics real estate are among our highest conviction global investment themes in today’s landscape,” said Babak Sultani, managing director in the placement and distribution team at Investcorp. “E-commerce sales are growing at a 15 percent CAGR, far outpacing industrial real estate supply at a 1.5 percent CAGR. We believe these tailwinds—along with greater supply chain diversification, and on-shoring of goods in the U.S. due to COVID-19 to maintain greater inventory levels—will drive greater demand for industrial real estate assets like the ones we have assembled across our portfolio.”
Investcorp ranked as the second largest international buyer and fourth largest international seller of US real estate for the 2019 calendar year, according to Real Capital Analytics. In addition, Investcorp ranked as a top-15 overall buyer of US industrial real estate for the 2019 calendar year, according to Real Capital Analytics.
