*** Bahrain's Investcorp grows US industrial real estate portfolio to $2 billion | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Bahrain's Investcorp grows US industrial real estate portfolio to $2 billion

Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain-based asset manager Investcorp today announced that it has acquired 32 industrial properties totaling approximately 3.5 million square feet across four major US markets for a total capitalization of over $280 million.

The properties grow Investcorp’s wider US industrial real estate portfolios to approximately $2 billion with 22 million square feet comprised of more than 260 buildings.

The latest acquisitions provide Investcorp with a new 96 pc leased portfolio of Class A and B warehouse, distribution, and flex industrial buildings with a diversified tenant base across a range of industries, including: healthcare, logistics, e-commerce, industrials, telecommunications and food services, among others.

The portfolio includes a brand new, state of the art building leased 100 pc to a leading multinational Fortune 100 company. The properties comprising the portfolio are primarily located in the major industrial markets of Chicago, Illinois and Cleveland, Ohio, which rank as the first and 11th largest industrial markets in the US, respectively. Additional MSAs comprising the portfolio include Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio.

“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,” Yusef Al Yusef, Head of Gulf Institutional Clients Group at Investcorp, said.

“We believe that the current environment is only 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 aligns with our strategy and we believe that it will further strengthen our position as a leading global, alternative investment manager,” he added. 

“Industrial, warehouse and logistics real estate are among our highest conviction global investment themes in today’s landscape. E-commerce sales are growing at a 15 pc CAGR, far outpacing industrial real estate supply at a 1.5 pc CAGR. 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,” Babak Sultani, Managing Director in the Placement and Distribution team at Investcorp, said.

Investcorp ranked as the second largest international buyer and fourth largest international seller of US real estate for the 2019 calendar year, according to Real Capital Analytics. In addition, Investcorp ranked as a top-15 overall buyer of US industrial real estate for the 2019 calendar year, according to Real Capital Analytics.