Blackbrook Capital strikes first deal with last-mile swoop

Blackbrook Capital has struck its first deal since launching at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The company has agreed to buy a last-mile logistics site in Denmark, majority leased to freight carrier Danske Fragtmænd. The site, close to Copenhagen, changed hands for an undisclosed price. Lundgrens advised Blackbrook, while CBRE advised the vendor. Blackbrook chief executive Arvi Luoma said Denmark faces a “significant supply and demand imbalance for quality logistics assets, including last-mile facilities”. He added: “With increasing e-commerce penetration, tenant requirements for modern and eco-friendly real estate, and generally constrained opportunities to develop new sites, we expect the Danish market to experience both robust rental growth and asset value appreciation over the long-term.” Luoma, former head of European investments for sale-and-leaseback specialist WP Carey, set up Blackbrook in March with chairman Gordon DuGan, a former chief executive of Gramercy Property Trust and of WP Carey. The company, backed by Eldridge Industries, is headquartered in London. DuGan told EG at launch that Blackbrook’s “DNA is going to be European” and that it may open continental offices. Much of the company’s focus will be on sale-and-leaseback deals. As the coronavirus pandemic encourages corporate owner-occupiers to reconsider their real estate footprints, there are signs of a rise in companies looking to sell their buildings to institutional investors before leasing them back. Luoma told EG last month: “In times like these, when perhaps companies have exhausted other financing methods, the sale and leaseback stands out. You have the ability to undertake a fairly quick transaction, you can release the capital tied up in assets and use that to support your business. “It can help to fill some temporary liquidity gaps but it can also provide funding for opportunities for growth coming out of this environment.”   To send feedback, e-mail tim.burke@egi.co.uk or tweet @_tim_burke or @estatesgazette