GFH Partners Ltd has announced the sale of a portfolio of 10 industrial outdoor storage (IOS) assets in the US at $113 million, marking its fifth exit in the logistics sector in the past years. 

GFH Partners, a Dubai-based investment manager and global real assets investment arm of GFH Bank, acts as investment manager of the vehicle that owned the portfolio.

The exit reflects GFH Partners’ ability to identify the right investment strategy and the assets that best capture it. The portfolio was built around a clear thesis: industrial outdoor storage serves fleet parking, equipment storage and logistics staging, where structural demand meets limited supply in infill and transportation-corridor locations constrained by zoning and scarce developable land.

 Assembled ten properties

GFH Partners assembled ten properties across the Central US, including eight in the Chicago submarket, one in Lenexa, Kansas, and one in Wilmer, Texas, selected for their locations, tenant demand and potential for income growth.

Active asset management strengthened the portfolio’s income profile. Across the nine Chicago and Kansas properties, GFH Partners achieved double-digit rental growth on lease renewals, maintained high occupancy and increased net operating income over the holding period.

In Wilmer, Texas, located south of Dallas along the I-45 corridor, a vacant IOS site was transformed into a stabilised, income-generating property through a long-term lease with an investment-grade tenant.

The sale, which closed on October 22, 2026, was delivered against a difficult backdrop for commercial real estate, characterised by elevated financing costs, constrained debt availability, lower transaction volumes and continued divergence between buyer and seller pricing expectations.

Right investment strategy

Nael Mustafa, Chief Executive Officer of GFH Partners, commented: “This exit, our fifth in the logistics sector in six years, reflects what we do best: identifying the right investment strategy, selecting the right assets and delivering the exit. Industrial outdoor storage offers structural demand and constrained supply, and we backed that view with a portfolio of well-located assets that we managed actively to strengthen income and, ultimately, realise value.

“Achieving this outcome in a market defined by higher financing costs and subdued transaction volumes is a testament to the discipline of our approach. We continue to see compelling value in logistics and industrial outdoor storage, and, through the funds we manage, we intend to continue deploying capital where our sector expertise and asset management capabilities can generate long-term value for our investors.”

Continued conviction in logistics and US industrial outdoor storage

Industrial outdoor storage has become an increasingly institutionalised segment of US real estate, supported by demand for vehicle and equipment storage, fleet parking and logistics staging. 

Supply remains constrained near population centres and logistics hubs, where restrictive zoning and limited developable land create barriers to new development, while the sector’s low capital intensity and resilient cash flows continue to attract a broader base of investors.

Since 2024, GFH Partners has acted as investment manager to a series of dedicated IOS funds and intends to remain active across logistics and IOS, reflecting its confidence in the sector’s long-term fundamentals.—TradeArabia News Service