Investcorp grows US industrial real estate footprint to $2bn

Bahrain-listed alternative asset manager and private equity firm Investcorp acquired 32 industrial properties in the US for more than $280 million, growing the company's real estate portfolio to about $2 billion, it said on Monday.

“We are excited to further enhance our robust industrial real estate footprint in the US with the addition of these stable, high-quality assets in major logistics markets,” said Yusef Al Yusef, head of Gulf institutional clients group at Investcorp.

“The current environment is further accelerating e-commerce penetration and the need for more resilient supply chains. These latest acquisitions of quality, cash flow-generating industrial real estate assets align with our strategy.”

Investcorp's real estate holdings in the US now include more than 260 buildings spread across 22 million square feet.

Investcorp, which counts Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, has also been active in the European real estate sector since 2017, with investments worth €800m (Dh3.5bn) in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

In July, Investcorp sold a portfolio of industrial properties in the US for more than $200m, with the transaction generating "strong returns". The asset manager also set up a new platform last month to invest in Chinese healthcare companies.

The latest acquisitions have a diversified tenant base across a range of industries, including: healthcare, logistics, e-commerce, industrials, telecommunications and food services, among others. The company's real estate portfolio includes a new building fully leased to a Fortune 100 company. The properties are primarily located in Chicago, Illinois, and Cleveland, Ohio, which rank as the first and 11th largest industrial markets in the US, respectively, Investcorp said in the statement.

The company has also acquired properties in the US cities of Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, in the latest round of expansion.

“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 per cent compound annual growth rate, far outpacing industrial real estate supply at 1.5 per cent," Mr Sultani added.

"We believe these tailwinds along with greater supply chain diversification and on-shoring of goods in the US 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 in 2019, according to Real Capital Analytics. The asset manager ranked as a top-15 overall buyer of US industrial real estate for 2019, according to the data provider.