STAMFORD, CT-A newly formed joint venture targeting single tenant net lease properties in the US between locally based GE Real Estate and United Trust Fund Limited Partnership of Miami has closed its first deal. The partnership's first transaction, valued in excess of $50 million, involves the sale-leaseback of the Belk Department Stores' corporate headquarters, a 292,000-sf property at 2801 West Tyvola Rd. in Charlotte, NC. GE Real Estate officials say that a 15-year lease triple net was signed with Belk.
The venture was formed by Business Property, a division of GE Real Estate, and is part of its growth strategy for its equity and sale-leaseback platform, company officials say. The duo is actively seeking additional investment opportunities throughout the US and Canada. United Trust Fund is a real estate investment firm specializing in sale-leasebacks, corporate build-to-suit development and the purchase of net leased corporate real estate assets throughout the US.
United Trust Fund senior vice president and director of acquisitions Fred Berliner says the transaction was closed two weeks from the time the purchase contract was signed. A number of other deals are in the works. "We are going to close either on Tuesday or Wednesday on a property in Los Angeles and we have many others in the pipeline." While no set investment target has been established for the joint venture, he notes that it will invest "as much as we can on good, quality product."
"We've identified a growing need for long-term financing and sale-leaseback transactions of single tenant business properties," says Bruce Nelson, president and chief executive officer of GE Real Estate Business Property. "There's synergy in launching a joint venture that combines two companies with transaction expertise and a focus on customer centricity."
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