Valad Europe, the multi-let real estate investment manager, has entered into a joint venture agreement with Grindrod Financial Services for a new separate account mandate to build a portfolio of UK industrial real estate assets.
The portfolio will have an initial target gross asset value of GBP100m. Grindrod is a major South African listed company.
The joint venture will be seeded with GBP50m of equity, contributed from a combination of individual private equity investors, South African institutions, Grindrod Financial Services and Valad Europe, which will be used to acquire strategic assets across the UK in lot sizes of between GBP5m and GBP10m.
David Kirkby, Valad Europe’s head of funds management, says: “We are delighted to be partnering with Grindrod Financial Services on our latest joint venture and to further diversify our investor base into the growing South African market. This further highlights the growing appetite among our investing partners who are looking for opportunities to invest equity in the UK commercial real estate market, in particular where current pricing levels offer significant potential upside and good income generation. We look forward to finding suitable deals which meet our joint venture’s investment criteria and our own skill set and platform.”
David Polkinghorne, managing director of Grindrod Financial Services, says: “Through our joint venture with Valad Europe, we are looking to provide our investors with the right balance between risk and return and have decided that the UK light industrial sector currently meets this profile. We are confident that with their extensive platform and team, Valad Europe will bring attractive real estate deals that meet our investment strategy.”