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, according to a filing on the Dubai Financial Markets (DFM).
The assets feature six newly built Class A properties, with notable tenants such as Tesla, Teleflex, Tower Health, and UGO Energy Services. The properties are diversified in terms of location, space usage, and tenant base, boasting long lease terms and investment-grade occupants.
US Industrial Real Estate Shows Resilience
GFH Partners highlighted the resilience of the US industrial real estate sector despite challenges such as the pandemic and high inflationary and interest rate environments. The sector benefits from strong demand driven by e-commerce and manufacturing, as well as the nearshoring and offshoring of production facilities to North America.
Key Transportation Logistics Assets
The Fund’s transportation logistics assets comprise around 20 small to medium sites used for truck parking and servicing, sorting and fulfillment of goods, electric vehicle battery charging, loading and unloading, and transportation worker facilities. These sites, totaling 600 square feet of rentable area, are 100% occupied and leased to tenants like SRS Distribution, Steiner, AT&T, and Penske.
Strategic Market Positioning
GFH Partners noted a rising interest in this asset class due to limited availability, strict zoning requirements, and decreasing supply driven by growing demand from trucking, bus, and other mass transport operators. The assets also leverage the resurgence of the Midwest logistics spine, which connects Chicago to Texas and the southern US border, with additional support from onshoring and reshoring activities in Mexico.
Partnership for Asset Management
To manage these assets, GFH Partners has teamed up with Transport Properties, an investment manager specializing in developing and enhancing properties for trucks, buses, construction, and material storage. Transport Properties has a portfolio of more than 45 properties acquired across 605 acres and manages each step in-house.
Leadership Comments
Nael Mustafa, CEO of GFH Partners, remarked, “The successful launch and closing of this Fund is another important milestone for GFH Partners. It capitalizes on our ability to secure off-market transactions that offer our investors unique risk-return profiles, further building on our existing platform and capabilities.”
Mustafa added, “We believe the current phase of the economic cycle is characterized by slowing inflation, the end of the rate hike cycle, and continued strong performance in the sectors GFH Partners specializes in, particularly logistics and industrial. The slowdown of new developments and strong macroeconomic drivers for industrial and logistics assets are contributing to stable rent growth and an overall positive outlook for the sector.”
“The Fund also introduces transportation logistics, a subsector within US logistics with potential for growth due to limited available land and zoning constraints, indicating the likelihood of rental growth upside,” he concluded.
