GLP agrees to buy US warehouses for US$1.1b

[NEW YORK] Global Logistic Properties Ltd, the second-largest owner of US industrial real estate, agreed to buy US$1.1 billion of warehouses from Hillwood Development Co.

Singapore-based GLP, which owns US$38 billion of industrial buildings globally, expects to complete a US$700 million deal for fully leased properties in December, the company said in a statement Monday.

The remainder of the buildings are in development and will be acquired in phases over the next 18 months, Chuck Sullivan, president and chief operating officer of GLP's US division, said in an interview.

"It's a very high-quality portfolio," Mr Sullivan said. "We like the nature of the logistics business that the tenants are in."

Industrial-property landlords are benefiting as the growth of online shopping fuels demand for distribution and warehouse space. The occupancy rate at US industrial buildings is at the highest level since 2000, data from Green Street Advisors LLC show. E-commerce is expanding about 15 per cent a year, according to the real estate research firm.

GLP has been pushing deeper into US industrial real estate, with deals including the purchase last year of more than 200 warehouses from Industrial Income Trust Inc for US$4.55 billion.

It plans to seek partners for the transaction with Hillwood, a Dallas-based firm founded by H Ross Perot Jr, and said it expects to retain a 10 per cent stake in the properties while continuing to manage them.

BLOOMBERG