GLP Capital Partners scales up in Japan with $3.2bn fundraise

Logistics heavyweight GLP Capital Partners (GCP) has raised ¥453 billion ($3.2 billion; €2.9 billion) for its flagship open-end logistics core fund on the back of strong interest from domestic investors, PERE has learned.

GLP Japan Income Fund secured $106 million of new commitments in the most recent round of fundraising, including capital from a domestic real estate company, according to a release. With more than 60 investors in the fund, it is composed of approximately one-third domestic investors and two-thirds international investors.

“We are pleased to be able to continue building on our track record and are grateful to the investors who have entrusted their capital to us,” said Ralf Wessel, global head of fundraising at GLP Capital Partners. “One-third of JIF’s capital base comprises domestic investors, which is substantial in dollar terms. We believe this underscores our value proposition and established strategy, and positions us favorably to tap into a significant and expanding domestic investor market who are growing their allocations to real estate.”

The firm has seen meaningful growth in the number of its domestic partners, including corporate pension funds and life insurance companies, according to a PERE source. This is because there has been a notable shift among Japanese institutional investors towards investing in alternative assets, as many of them remain underallocated in the space. In particular, core income strategies for logistics assets with stable cashflow have become the preferred choice for these investors since covid.

With the current fundraising momentum, the firm plans to grow JIF’s assets under management to ¥1 trillion by 2025. Since it was launched in 2020, the fund has amassed ¥700 billion of AUM, including its recent acquisition of a four-storey, 100 percent pre-leased purpose-built facility located in Yachiyo City of Chiba Prefecture. The JIF portfolio comprises 22 properties with a combined gross floor area of two million square meters and a 99 percent lease ratio. The assets have an average age of 4.5 years and weighted average lease expiry of 5.2 years.

While GCP will continue to grow its logistics business in Japan, PERE can reveal that the firm is planning to launch a new digital infrastructure strategy targeting data centers later this year. Having already made significant investments in acquiring land and resources for data centers over the years, GCP plans to extend investment opportunities to external investors for the first time.

GCP manages approximately $30 billion of AUM in Japan with both private and public strategies. While JIF will remain open for fundraising, the firm’s listed Japan real estate investment trust, GLP J-REIT, has also recently completed a global equity offering of $220 million, with one-third of the capital contributed by high-net-worth investors.