Realterm closes $350m US logistics credit fund targeting industrial lending
US logistics real estate investment manager Realterm has closed its inaugural Realterm Logistics Credit Fund (RLCF) and associated co-investment vehicle with a total of $350 million in capital commitments, marking its strategic move into direct lending for the industrial sector.
The fund aims to address a persistent financing gap in the logistics and industrial real estate market, particularly for specialised asset classes such as industrial outdoor storage (IOS). RLCF has already made its first deployment, a $70.8 million loan backing a national IOS portfolio owned by GreenPoint Partners, spanning eight properties across key US markets including Dallas, Houston, Laredo, Phoenix, San Antonio, Commerce City, Detroit, and Savannah.
“We will construct a highly granular portfolio of privately negotiated senior mortgages and junior capital solutions, targeting both stabilised and transitional logistics properties across major U.S. markets,” said Paul Sisson, head of credit at Realterm and fund manager of RLCF. “We’re leveraging our three decades of investment expertise as a sector specialist to provide sophisticated and creative lending solutions to fill a financing gap that is underserved by traditional lenders.”
According to the firm, traditional financial institutions have been slow to adapt to the evolving nature of logistics real estate, particularly due to smaller average loan sizes and unfamiliarity with emerging industrial formats like IOS, despite the sector’s significant growth since the 2008 financial crisis.
“The successful closing of Realterm’s first credit fund represents a natural evolution of our platform and extension of our sector expertise into a new asset class, which will further enhance the range of capital solutions that we can offer to our counterparties,” said Peter Lesburg, managing director and global head of capital markets at Realterm. “We are also excited to welcome several new investors into our partnership through this new vehicle.”
The fund strategy is to build a diversified loan portfolio across the risk spectrum, with a focus on real estate fundamentals and borrower partnerships. While specific investor breakdowns were not disclosed, Realterm confirmed that the vehicle had attracted a mix of returning and new institutional partners.
Realterm manages a global portfolio of more than 400 logistics properties worth over $13 billion. The firm is known for its expertise in logistics infrastructure, particularly in cargo-focused and last-mile facilities. The firm has been active on the development front as well, recently breaking ground on a Class A IOS project in Laredo, Texas, and signing new leases at its East Chicago, Indiana, site.
