Bridge Investment Group is doubling down on industrial net leases, officially launching a new vehicle to provide wider investor access to the sought-after sector.
The firm launched its industrial net lease strategy in 2021 with a subsidiary called Bridge Net Lease. Since then it has invested more than $700 million into industrial net lease warehouse properties and built-to-suit development projects. In all, the portfolio spans 5.85 million square feet around the US.
Now, with accredited investors in mind, Bridge has formed a private real estate income trust, according to a filing with US Securities and Exchange Commission. This vehicle, named Bridge Investment Group Industrial Real Estate Income Trust, marks the first time the firm has offered a product to non-institutional investors.
Like many, Bridge is banking on industrial because of the supply-demand fundamentals in the US. “That’s driven by e-commerce driving demand and job creation, as well as the onshoring and reshoring themes we’re seeing with US corporations wanting to control their manufacturing operations and their greater control over their supply chains that were disrupted during covid,” Bridge Net Lease co-chief investment officer Brandon Flickinger said. “Over time, we’ve seen a real bifurcation of the performance of the different US commercial real estate sectors and, on a relative basis, industrial we anticipate continuing to be an outperformer.”
Bridge did not disclose a target for the open-ended vehicle in the filing. The REIT is expected to invest into the firm’s existing net lease industrial property portfolio, which has a weighted average lease term of 13 years, according to Bridge’s website, and be part of any future acquisitions. The portfolio was fully occupied as of the end of September. Geographically, the firm is targeting industrial markets in states like Ohio, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona and Texas. When it comes to types of assets, Bridge seeks out logistics, manufacturing, food supply chain assets – such as cold storage – and select specialty and light industrial assets.
Last summer, for example, Bridge Net Lease bought two manufacturing and distribution assets in Pennsylvania. The properties’ tenants had signed 15-year net leases with two additional five-year options.
Logistics gaining favor
Net lease properties are attractive to investors because they provide consistent cash flow through market cycles and many have inflation-linked leases, firm representatives told PERE. Logistics has increasingly gained favor among institutional capital, particularly as investors seek to reduce exposure to office assets.
“Although we can’t speak publicly about a specific vehicle, we’ve received feedback from our wealth management clients that they are looking for broader access to investment strategies for their accredited investors,” said Matt Tucker, who is Bridge Net Lease co-chief investment officer alongside Flickinger.
Bridge is the latest manager seeking to capitalize on the trend of the democratization of alternative investments. Offering accredited investor products is certainly not new, but most firms have opted for diversified funds, including Blackstone’s Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust and Starwood Capital Group’s Starwood Real Estate Income Trust.
“Bridge has always invested through sector-specific strategies and we think that expanding access to those strategies continues to allow us to leverage our specialization,” Tucker said.
If you do not receive this within five minutes, please try to sign in again. If the problem persists, please email: 
