Dubai: GFH Partners Ltd, the global asset management arm of GFH Financial Group, has launched and closed its seventh logistics and industrial Fund in the US, the Dubai Financial Markets-listed company announced Monday. Valued at $300 million, the Fund includes 25 industrial and transportation logistics assets across seven US locations, the company said in a DFM filing.
These assets feature six newly built Class A properties with tenants like Tesla, Teleflex, Tower Health, and UGO Energy Services. The assets are well diversified in terms of location, space usage, and tenant base, with long lease terms and investment-grade occupants.
GFH Partners Ltd has said the industrial real estate sector in the US has shown resilience in challenging times, including the pandemic and high inflationary and interest rate environments. It is supported by strong demand from continued e-commerce and manufacturing, as well as the nearshoring and offshoring of a variety of production facilities to North America.
The Fund’s transportation logistics assets are comprised of around 20 small to medium sites used for truck parking and servicing, sorting and fulfilment of goods, electrical vehicle battery charging, loading and unloading, and transportation worker facilities. They are 100 per cent occupied and spread across 600 square feet of the rentable area leased to SRS Distribution, Steiner, AT&T, and Penske.
“Interest in this asset class is rising due to limited availability, strict zoning requirements, and decreasing supply resulting from growing demand from trucking, bus, and other mass transport operators. In addition, the assets acquired by the Fund capitalise on the re-emergence of the Midwest logistics spine, which connects Chicago to Texas and the southern border of the US. Demand in these markets is also supported by tailwinds driven by the onshoring/ reshoring of several manufacturing and warehousing activities in Mexico,” the company said in its DFM filing.
Asset management
To manage these assets, GFH Partners said it has partnered with Transport Properties, an investment manager specialising in developing and enhancing properties for trucks, buses, construction, and material storage, ranging from single-tenant to large-scale, complex integrated facilities. Transport Properties has a portfolio of more than 45 properties acquired across 605 acres of land and is vertically integrated, managing each step in-house by controlling the process.
Nael Mustafa, CEO of GFH Partners, said, “The successful launch and closing of this Fund is another important milestone for GFH Partners and capitalises on our ability to secure off-market transactions that offer our investors unique risk-return profiles, which further builds on our existing platform and capabilities.”
He said, “We believe the current phase of the economic cycle is characterised by slowing inflation, the end of the rate hike cycle, and continued strong performance in the sectors GFH Partners specialises in, of which logistics and industrial are key components. The slowdown of new developments and constructions and strong macroeconomic drivers for industrial and logistics assets are also contributing to stable rent growth and an overall positive outlook for the sector.”
He continued, “The Fund also introduces transportation logistics, a subsector within US logistics with potential for growth due to the combination of limited available land and zoning constraints, indicating the likelihood of rental growth upside.”
