Singapore-based Elite Partners Capital has announced the first close of its $236m logistics fund, and seeks investment opportunities in the European Union’s and the UK’s logistics sector
Singapore-based private equity firm Elite Partners Capital has announced the first close of its pure-play Elite Logistics Fund, which has a target size of EUR150 million ($236.2 million) and seeks investment opportunities in the European Union’s and the UK’s logistics sector.
The announcement did not mention the amount raised in the first close but Elite Partners said the fund will hold more than four million square feet of logistics assets in Poland and the UK.
The first close followed the listing of the first sterling-dominated REIT – Elite Commercial REIT – on the Singapore Exchange on 6 February 2020. Elite Commercial REIT has an initial portfolio of 97 properties across the UK.
Unlike some private equity funds, Elite Partners Capital said its funds have a shorter duration. The fund that seeded Elite Commercial REIT had a life of 2+1+1 years. Similarly, Elite Logistics Fund also has a life of 2+1+1 years.
The Polish assets are in Warsaw and Gdansk, near the largest deep-water container port terminal in Poland operated by PSA International and close to the main international airport and rail links to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The UK assets are in key logistics hubs with direct access to main motorways. All properties in the portfolio are freehold or virtual freehold and leased to large multinational corporations.
Enoch Tan, portfolio director of the logistics funds, said Poland has emerged as a major logistics player along with the UK, where the sector is relatively well established.
We have confidence in the fund as logistics assets tend to provide more stable and defensive yields and are less sensitive to volatility and economic disruptions, he emphasised.
Elite Partners is a relatively new entrant in the world of PE. Last year, the firm was reported to be raising about $50 million for its debut non-realty vehicle that invests in Norwegian growth companies.
In 2018, it acquired a portfolio of 97 commercial properties across the UK worth $492.82 million from Telereal Trillium, one of the largest privately-owned property firms in the country.
In a separate announcement, Elite Partners said it is likely to launch the IPO of a second REIT by the end of this year or early next year if everything goes according to plans.
We hope to pick a time so that the listing benefits investors, and for the REIT IPO to be done well if it’s a REIT listing, said Victor Song, CEO of Elite Partners Capital.
Headquartered in Singapore, Elite Partners Capital is an alternative asset management company focused on the management of yield-accretive real estate assets with high growth potential and well-defined exit strategies.
