BKM Capital Partners, which has recently been added to the roster of asset managers used by US pensions giant CalPERS, has bought industrial properties in the western US for a total of $175m (€140m).

CalPERS announced last November it would invest via BKM Capital Partners, bringing the manager onto its real estate emerging manager programme, the Canyon Catalyst Fund (CCF).

The assets include Hughes Airport Center, a 670,902sqft multi-tenant industrial complex in Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of 13 buildings.

The deal follows BKM Capital Partners’ recent acquisition, through its programmatic joint venture with the CCF, of Bayside Business Park, a 14-building, 352,280sqft property in Freemont, California, the manager said.

BKM says it focuses on value-add, multi-tenant industrial investments and that its current strategy is to buy assets that are the largest in the market.

Brian Malliet, co-founder and chief executive of BKM Capital Partners, said the strategy was serving the company’s investors well.

“By acquiring the largest multi-tenant industrial assets in the markets we serve, we are able to devise units to match market demand, which translates directly into high occupancy, resulting in strong stabilised returns for our investors,” he said.

Malliet said his firm had bought Hughes Airport Center at a significant discount to replacement cost.

The firm was continuing to look for light, multi-tenant industrial assets throughout the western US, he said.