Zenith IOS (“Zenith”) and J.P. Morgan today announced a new joint venture between Zenith and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives dedicated to building a national industrial outdoor storage (“IOS”) platform. The platform will create an institutional portfolio of IOS assets positioned to meet the growing user demand across various supply chain networks. The joint venture is expected to have closed over $125 million of acquisitions by the end of February, 2022.
Zenith, a vertically integrated investment platform, was co-founded by Ben Atkins and Daniel Laub. With more than 25 years of real estate experience, Mr. Atkins is also the Founder and President of Abingdon Square Partners, which invests in various property types throughout the United States. Mr. Laub is also Founder and CEO of Greyscale Development Group.
“As the available supply of quality IOS sites continues to tighten due to various different forces, the fundamental growth in e-commerce and distribution, construction, and up-zoning, the macro dynamics support a high-yielding strategy with an increasingly strong tenant credit profile” said Ben Atkins, Founder and CEO. “We see IOS rapidly emerging as a new distinct subset of the industrial asset class, and our goal is to help define this space through the creation of an institutionally owned and operated investment company.”
“Together with our partner, J.P. Morgan, we believe this is a generational opportunity to build a national platform” said Daniel Laub, Founder and COO. “The joint venture will leverage our combined expertise in IOS acquisitions, leasing, financing and asset management. Our vision is to build a billion-dollar company over the next two years.”
IOS properties are typically low coverage industrial sites utilized by a vast array of owner-operators and tenants needing outdoor space for vehicle parking, container storage, construction supplies, machinery, materials storage and other uses. The joint venture will target urban infill industrial locations in major cities and high growth areas.
“The current supply and demand imbalance for industrial outdoor storage will be exacerbated by the increasing need for these mission-critical properties that support e-commerce, transportation, logistics, infrastructure and construction,” said Ryan Kavanaugh, Vice President, Real Estate Americas at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “On behalf of our investors, we are one of the largest institutional managers of IOS and we look forward to growing our presence with the talented Zenith team.”
