Charter Hall makes cold storage real estate play

The Sydney-listed developer and fund manager has acquired a portfolio of ten temperature controlled cold storage buildings with ancillary offices for $135m.

Charter Hall has made a A$179.4 million ($135 million; €124 million) investment in a portfolio of cold storage facilities in Australia.

The properties are predominantly located in New South Wales and Victoria and are typically temperature controlled cold storage buildings with ancillary office accommodation and additional concrete hardstand areas.

The transaction reflects an average initial yield of 6.5 percent benefiting from a Weighted Average Lease Expiry (WALE) of approximately 10.5 years. The properties are predominantly leased to subsidiaries of international food group JBS.

“Charter Hall has a strong track record in creating institutional grade investment opportunities which provide our investor customers access to a growing and sustainable income stream, generated from high caliber tenants and quality real estate in strategic locations,” commented Charter Hall managing director and chief executive, David Harrison.

The industrial and logistics sector has been a key growth sector for Charter Hall over the past five years, and is now Australia’s second largest industrial platform, with a A$4.7 billion portfolio. The firm’s industrial funds under management as at 31 December 2016 make up 25 percent of the group’s A$19 billion total FUM.