This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
GLOBAL investment firm Goldman Sachs Alternatives is backing the strong thematics of Australia’s industrial sector, acquiring a nationwide portfolio of seven last-mile logistics assets for $133 million.
The properties span a combined 65,300 sqm of leasable space in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, in “high-quality, strategically located assets near high-capacity urban highways in key population centres”, the investment arm of the major US firm said.
It said the assets are leased to e-commerce, transport, wholesale distributors, third-party logistics and other last-mile tenants.
Goldman Sachs Alternatives said it will scale the portfolio through additional acquisitions and “execute on a broad, detailed value-creation plan to upgrade the efficiency of the assets”.
Nikhil Reddy, head of Asia Pacific real estate at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, said, “This investment highlights our continued commitment to Australian real estate and reflects our conviction in sourcing Australian last-mile logistics properties for our investors.
“Logistics is an attractive sector, which benefits from demographic trends and technological advancements. Australia is especially compelling for value creation because it is supported by economic and population growth, alongside historically limited supply.”
The industrial sector has boomed since the pandemic propelled e-commerce, as locked-down consumers shopped online and companies looked to load up on inventory and deliver goods at faster speeds.
Also keen on last-mile metrics, Elanor Investors Group has just teamed up with PGIM Real Estate to acquire a 19-hectare south-east Melbourne site, which the joint venture partners plan to turn into a 113,000 sqm logistics estate, for around $200 million in one of the largest industrial sector deals of 2024.
PGIM was fresh from partnering with KordaMentha’s KM Property Funds to acquire a Visy distribution centre in Melbourne’s western suburb of Laverton North for $92 million, while a Port Melbourne distribution centre had sold for $61 million. Both were divested by a Dexus wholesale fund.
In another major deal underpinned by a strategic location, pan-Asian logistics giant ESR and Frasers Property Industrial teamed up to acquire 64.4 hectares of land in Melbourne’s south-east that will be developed into a $900 million industrial estate.
Goldman Sachs Alternatives would not disclose a price paid for its portfolio, but the figure is believed to be comparable what Elanor and PGIM paid for its Melbourne asset.
June quarter data shows industrial transactions picked up, with $2.1 billion worth of assets trading, taking the total volume of the first half of the year to $2.7 billion across 67 assets.
Goldman Sachs is no stranger to the Australian industrial market. A decade ago, it established the PropertyLink Australian Industrial Partnership (PAIP), a 75/25 joint venture with Sydney-based real estate investment manager PropertyLink, to acquire a diversified portfolio of secondary, value-add industrial properties around the country. PAIP was later listed on the ASX, raising more than $500 million as a pure-play industrial REIT.
Since 2017, Goldman Sachs has allocated $6.2 billion in industrial assets, office and commercial properties and data centres and has deployed more than $13 billion in alternative investments in Australia since 2012.
Globally, since 2012, Goldman Sachs Alternatives has invested over US$60 billion in real estate. In May, it closed the West Street Real Estate Credit Partners IV and related vehicles, raising over $7 billion with a mission in-part to partner with Australian property developers looking for real estate finance.
Goldman Sachs Alternatives’s logistics real estate portfolios around the world include projects with Dalfen Industrial, a real estate investment manager specialising in the acquisition, development and operation of last-mile industrial properties in North America, and Newdock, a logistics management and investment platform focused on developing and managing logistics spaces across Europe.
