Rasmala Investment Bank Limited (Rasmala or RIBL) says it is on track to deploy $1 bn (€820 mln) into logistics properties following the acquisitions of two facilities in Germany for €154 mln.
RIBL is the primary asset management subsidiary of Rasmala Plc, a London AIM-listed investment group.
The first facility is a new Amazon logistics centre spanning 88,000 m2 and was acquired for $145 €121 mln. Rasmala simultaneously acquired a second facility, a €33 million logistics centre let to a subsidiary of Decathlon, the sports goods retailer.
Both facilities are located in the new Grade A Westfalenhuette logistics park, north-east of the German city of Dortmund. The new Dortmund logistics park is strategically located for distribution operations with easy access to both eastern and western Europe. Located in the densely populated Ruhr Valley – the most populated region in Germany – the site is ideally situated for logistics operations, Rasmala said.
Growing portfolio
These acquisitions add to Rasmala’s portfolio of investments in the logistics sector. In March 2017, Rasmala purchased Amazon’s biggest UK fulfilment and distribution centre, which covers 93,000 m2 located in Dunfermline, Scotland, for €70 mln. The transaction is believed to be the biggest ever single logistics property deal in Scotland.
Outside Europe, Rasmala acquired a fully let portfolio of 120 warehouses in Dubai Investments Park, close to the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai for $140 mln.
Zak Hydari, Group CEO at Rasmala Group: 'Rasmala’s acquisition of over $400 million of logistics assets demonstrates our appetite for stable income-yielding assets.'
Hydari said: 'Well-sited logistics centres let to the right tenants have become a critically important part of any large real estate portfolio.” He added: “Real estate is going to remain a key strategic pillar of our 2018 plans leveraging our expertise in acquiring attractive assets in the most in-demand asset categories, let to blue-chip tenants.'
E-commerce
Naseer Aka, head of real estate at Rasmala, said: 'E-commerce continues to grow its market share. As a result, distribution centres have taken over from traditional retail space as drivers of rental growth. As the leading e-retailer in the United States and the world’s biggest retailer by market value, Amazon is the kind of blue-chip tenant we want.'
Rasmala arranged debt financing of the purchase through DekaBank and were advised on the transaction by Addleshaw Goddard LLP and GSK Stockmann as legal advisers, E&Y as financial advisers and CBRE as buy-side advisers. Gulf Islamic Investments (“GII”) were co-investment advisers on the Amazon transaction.
