GFH’s UK unit ties up with property arm of London listed ICG to buy logistics assets

The two companies plan to invest $409m in 'index-linked long income assets' in Spain

Bahrain's GFH Financial Group said its Roebuck Asset Management subsidiary formed a joint venture with the property arm of London-listed ICG. AFP

Roebuck Asset Management, a UK-based unit of Bahraini investment bank GFH Financial Group, and ICG Real Estate have formed a joint venture to buy logistics assets in Spain.

The joint venture with ICG, the real estate arm of London-listed Intermediate Capital Group, will target €400 million ($409m) “index-linked long income assets” through direct sale and leaseback opportunities or secondary acquisitions over the next 18 months.

The joint venture has already completed the acquisition of three urban logistics assets in Spain and is looking at more opportunities, GFH said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We see great promise in the last mile urban logistics market in the country, which continues to demonstrate positive fundamentals,” Hugh Macdonald-Brown, managing partner at Roebuck, said.

“ICG has an exceptionally strong reputation in the European marketplace, and the synergies between our businesses is yielding immediate results.”

The latest transaction comes as demand for logistics assets such as warehouses continues to rise because of an increase in e-commerce activity after the coronavirus pandemic.

A number of companies, including Bahrain’s Investcorp, are boosting their investments in logistics.

Roebuck, a pan-European asset management company specialising in European logistics, has completed €2.5 billion worth of transactions since its formation in 2009. It was acquired by GFH Group in 2020.

ICG is a global alternative asset manager with $71bn in assets under management. It operates in four asset classes including private equity, private debt, real assets and credit, according to its website.

GFH has an investment portfolio that spans the Middle East, the US, the UK and Asia in a number of sectors, including health care, education and logistics.

This month, it acquired a student housing portfolio in the US in partnership with its Atlanta-based subsidiary, Student Quarters, in a deal valued at $300m.