Investcorp sells UK industrial properties for £53.5m

Blackstone's last-mile logistics real estate unit Mileway acquires the seven-asset portfolio

Investcorp is targeting $4 billion of property acquisitions over the next two years in the US and Europe. Courtesy Investcorp

Bahrain-listed alternative investment management firm Investcorp completed the sale of a portfolio of seven industrial real estate assets in the UK to Mileway, a pan-European last-mile logistics real estate company owned by Blackstone Group.

The total value of the transaction is £53.5 million ($70m), sources told The National.

Investcorp acquired the portfolio, which is made up of three single let buildings and four multi-let estates, in 2017. It comprises about 692,000 square feet of industrial, warehouse and distribution accommodation, located in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Warrington, Leeds, South Elmsall, and High Wycombe.

“We continue to see attractive opportunities in the European industrial real estate given the strong secular tailwinds supporting their growth and resilience,” Yusef Al Yusef, head of Gulf institutional clients group at Investcorp, said in a statement on Sunday.

“Looking ahead, we will remain focused on identifying additional properties that generate cash flows and offer further potential upside.”

Mileway, launched by Blackstone in September 2019, owns and manages more than 1,300 properties across 100 cities in Europe.

Investcorp, which counts Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, has been active in the European real estate sector since 2017, with investments worth €800m in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

In addition to Europe, the company is also active in the US.

In July, Investcorp sold a portfolio of industrial properties in the US for more than $200m, with the transaction generating “strong returns” for the company.

The industrial properties in Boston and Chicago were acquired by Investcorp in 2017. The Boston properties comprised a warehouse, distribution and flex real estate portfolio, while properties in Chicago were primarily used for the storage and distribution of frozen food.

Investcorp swung to a net loss in its 2020 fiscal year as fee income dropped amid the coronavirus-induced economic slowdown, but the company remains focused on reaching its $50 billion target in assets under management, executive chairman Mohammed Alardhi said in August.

“The unprecedented global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic negatively affected our results,” Mr Alardhi said.

“We continue to remain confident in our growth strategy, having entered this crisis and approaching our 2021 fiscal year in a position of strength with now $1.2bn in accessible liquidity and $32.2bn in AUM.”