Global private markets investment manager Partners Group has acquired a portfolio of 27 light industrial properties in the UK for £253 mln (€286 mln).
The package, providing a total lettable area of 3.6 million sq ft (334,500 m2), was bought on behalf of clients from real estate investor Paloma Capital.
Partners Group intends to scale the portfolio with an additional £200 mln of equity to fund new acquisitions of UK light industrial assets over the next 24 months.
The portfolio is spread across the UK, with most properties in the West Midlands, Yorkshire and the North West. It has a diversified income stream with a tenant base of over 250 companies from a range of sectors, including logistics, engineering, distribution, trade and manufacturing.
Paloma Capital participated in the acquisition as a co-investor and will remain the operating partner to the portfolio.
Partners Group plans various value creation initiatives for the current portfolio, including increasing occupancy, refurbishing units to upgrade and modernize facilities so they better suit tenant requirements, improving site accessibility and enhancing energy efficiency.
Rahul Ghai, managing director, co-head Private Real Estate Europe, Partners Group, said: ‘The UK light industrial sector is seeing high levels of demand due to the rise of ecommerce, a key transformative trend we have been following, yet shrinking supply, which is being caused by competition for land from other real estate segments such as residential. Although the Brexit transition has caused some uncertainties, we don’t expect them to have a significant and lasting impact on the structural tailwinds supporting the sector.’
‘This portfolio of assets is diversified in terms of location, tenant base, asset size and offering, making it an attractive investment opportunity,’ added Keeran Kang, member of Management, Private Real Estate Europe, Partners Group. ‘The light industrial sector is one of Partners Group's top relative value propositions within real estate and this portfolio provides a great opportunity to increase our exposure to it. We are looking forward to making add-on acquisitions to the portfolio over the next two years.’
Partners Group was advised by Clifford Chance and Deloitte.
