Real estate investment firms Iconic Equities and Leste Real Estate have partnered to invest $400m (€372.6m) to buy industrial outdoor storage (IOS) facilities across the US.

The companies have formed a joint venture, backed by institutional capital, to acquire assets over a two to three-year period.

The newly created partnership has invested $9.5m to buy Garnett Storage in Coral Springs, Florida as its seed asset, the companies said, adding that the partnership has identified a “substantial pipeline of IOS facilities” for acquisition in major metropolitan areas and port markets across the country.

Timothy Bishop, founder and CEO of Iconic Equities, said: “Attractive supply and demand fundamentals driven by businesses investing to improve their logistics operations as the economy recovers from and has been reshaped by Covid makes this the right time to invest in IOS.

“This partnership brings the capital resources and ability to identify value-add IOS facilities in major US metropolitan areas and port markets where our involvement will improve supply chain reliability.”

Josh Patinkin, managing director of Leste Real Estate, said: “We’re excited about our partnership with Iconic and believe that the asset class has been under-penetrated by institutional players, providing an opportunity for groups like us to create value in an inefficient market.

“We look forward to deploying our capital into the asset class and upgrading them to help supply chains become more efficient.”

To read the latest edition of the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.