Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Buying Warehouses In Europe and China

It was rather lonely in 2019 when we were pitching warehouses and cold storage facilities but by December 2020 we were posting stuff like:

Real Estate: "Logistics market is hot, but is a bubble forming?"
It's always nice to see a sector you've been babbling about for a couple years finally referred to as a bubble.

Today's stories come first, from SupplyChainDive, October 15:

Lineage Logistics adds 790K pallet positions with latest acquisition 

Dive Brief:

  • Lineage Logistics strengthened its presence in Europe on Oct. 7 by completing the acquisition of a Netherlands-based cold storage company, Kloosterboer, according to a press release.
  • The acquisition adds 6.4 million cubic meters of capacity and 790,000 pallet positions. Kloosterboer also provides freight forwarding, customs brokerage, container handling and intermodal transport, according to the announcement.
  • The completion of Lineage Logistics' latest purchase adds to its portfolio of services and cold storage footprint. Lineage has been expanding through M&A, including a dozen transactions in Europe last year.

Dive Insight:

Demand for cold storage was heightened during the pandemic, whether it was for COVID-19 vaccines or fresh and frozen food. Lineage Logistics' latest acquision expands its services, adds geographical capacity and places the company in a position to provide more cold storage capacity for shippers at a time the industry is experiencing high demand.....

....MUCH MORE

And from Mingtiandi (Asian real estate intelligence) October 12:

CapitaLand’s CLCT Buys Four Mainland Warehouses From Quadreal for $260M

Singapore-listed CapitaLand China Trust Management (CLCT) has acquired four warehouse assets across key cities in China for RMB 1.68 billion ($260 million) as the company makes its first venture into the region’s logistics market in line with CapitaLand Group’s growing emphasis on expanding its exposure to the new economy sector.

CLCT told the Singapore stock exchange on Monday that it has agreed to acquire four logistics hubs in the mainland cities of Shanghai, Kunshan, Wuhan and Chengdu with a combined gross floor area of 265,259 square metres (2.86 million square feet).

“We are pleased to mark CLCT’s entry into China’s burgeoning logistics sector with a quality portfolio of logistics assets, in an investment that is aligned with China’s plans for a domestic consumption-driven, higher-value and service-led economy,” said CLCT chief executive Tan Tze Wooi. “The acquisition will enable CLCT to tap China’s strong demand for logistics properties, which is supported by conducive government policies and boosted by an accelerated growth in e-commerce.”

The vendor is identified in the stock announcement as QR Asia Logistics Master Holdco II Pte Ltd, a Singapore firm, which Quadreal Property Group representatives confirmed as a joint venture led by their firm. The real estate investment division of the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation had reportedly acquired three of the properties from LaSalle Investment Management, with the Shanghai asset coming from mainland fund manager CITIC Capital....

....MUCH MORE, it's a pretty deep dive.

Not kidding about pitching warehouses and cold storage.
Our interest was oftentimes even more niche, the cold storage sector of warehousing:

December 10
Where water turns to snow: S.Korean ultra-cold warehouse prepares to store Pfizer's vaccine
November 10
Robot Company With Attached Grocery, Ocado, Unveils Two Robot Acquisitions
Related:
Warehousing Logistics: "Lille-based Exotec raises €77.1 million to support the international expansion of its warehouse robotics solutions"
French Robot Logistics Startup Scallog Secures New Funds
"In 2012 Jeff Bezos scooped up warehouse automation firm Kiva. Everyone else is still trying to catch up" (AMZN)

October 8
Logistics: Maersk Is Pretty Cool
June 2020

Logistics: Top 20 U.S. Warehouse Owners
June 2020
"Warehouse space crunch will tighten as 'lean' supply chains fatten up"
April 27, 2020
The UK Food Situation Is Going to Get Interesting
From Reuters:
World's biggest cold storage supplier could reach full UK capacity in three weeks.....
April 22
Shipping: "Global container shipments set to fall 30% in next few months" (warehouses are full)
April 16
Understanding the Oddities of the Food Supply Chain Caused By the Response To Covid-19
April 4
Supergrocer: "Inside the Story of How H-E-B Planned for the Pandemic"

*****
June 3, 2019
Logistics: Big Money For Warehouses, Looking at Cold Storage.

...This next bit brings back some memories. My second stock to double was a cold storage company, actually a dairy with a cold storage operation that was valued at about one-quarter of comparables. I started chipping away at the float and before I got anywhere near enough stock, the management, who knew full well the value of the operation, did an LBO and took it private at 2x market and ended up generating cash-on-cash returns (for themselves) of around 40% per annum for a decade or so.
Bastards. 

June 6, 2019
"It's About To Become A Hot Market For Cold Storage Facilities"—CBRE
March 30, 2020
"Coronavirus: Panic buying sparks surge in flexible storage demand"