Inospace acquires industrial complex from Accelerate Property Fund

Formerly occupied by Meshcape Industries, a manufacturer of products for the mining industry, it is being acquired with 100% vacancy. The site includes four stand-alone industrial stands and several warehouses measuring 14,000 square metres under roof.

According to Inospace Chief Investment Officer David Bernstein, “the acquisition represents a price of under R2,000 a square metre for a large warehouse and improvements as well as four vacant erven acquired at under R200 a square metre”.

“This well-located asset acquired at a very low per square metre rate is a property where we see the potential to add significant value through our innovative business model and asset management initiatives,” explained Bernstein.

In February this year, Inospace acquired a neighbouring property, Rutland Works, from Fortress REIT, which is fully let at R45 – R50 a square metre rental rates.

“Eastleigh has a solid and diverse SME sector of which Inospace has good knowledge,” explains Bernstein. “The asset offers strong asset management potential and the opportunity for repositioning through capex investment of R15m – R16m”.

The property will be repositioned into a serviced logistics park and rebranded as Eastleigh Exchange, whereafter, it will be integrated into the company's growing network of branded sites. The property’s refurbishment will include Inospace’s growing range of additional value-added facilities and services.

Inospace has been on an aggressive acquisition spree over the last twelve months, and the Eastleigh site is the company’s 15th new site this year. The latest acquisition has increased the size of the Inospace portfolio to over R3billion, nearly double its value at the beginning of the 2020 Covid pandemic.

“Despite interest rate and other inflationary headwinds, resiliency in warehousing and distribution has been strong.  Our growth strategy results from a robust, data-driven approach to understanding the financial and operational influences across the new and ever-evolving industrial property ecosystem,” said Inospace’s CEO and founder Rael Levitt.

According to Levitt, the new industrial ecosystem results from accelerated demands and unexpected stressors placed upon supply chain networks due to dramatic changes in consumer behaviour combined with rapid urbanisation, shifting energy costs, and the structural shift toward omnichannel retailing, e-commerce and online delivery.  

According to Inospace, the local industrial sector has seen steady growth in recent years due to a higher e-commerce penetration rate, which results in higher warehousing space requirements to meet the surge in last-mile delivery.