Welspun One Logistics Park launches AIF

Welspun One Logistics Park on Tuesday announced the launch of its first alternative investment fund (AIF) ‘Welspun One Logistics Parks Fund I’. This fund would give an opportunity to domestic institutions, high net-worth individuals, family offices and NRIs, to invest in the warehousing and industrial real estate sector in India.

Welspun One Logistics Park is a pan-India integrated fund, development and asset management platform backed by the $2.7 billion Welspun Group.

The fund, a Sebi-registered Category II AIF, will be India’s first warehousing fund. Commenting on the launch BK Goenka, chairman, Welspun Group India, said, “India’s logistics sector will continue to be the backbone of economic growth and warehousing is a key component of this ecosystem. Through this AIF, the investor can reap the benefits of the returns by owning units of a fund, instead of an asset.”

He also stated that currently domestic investors can only invest in this high growth sector by investing directly in warehouses.

The fund has a target size of Rs 500 crore with a tenure of four years and a hurdle rate of 15%. The Welspun promoter family office has commited Rs 75 crore to the fund. The fund is likely to acquire land parcels in high demand, pre-identified markets, and develop Grade-A warehousing parks, which will be leased on a long-term basis to ‘AAA’ credit tenants. These tenants would be from sectors such as e-commerce, FMCG, third-party logistics (3PLs), pharma and auto-ancillaries. On completion, these assets would be divested to institutional investors including private equity, pension and sovereign funds, REITs, among others so as to provide an exit and deliver the targeted returns to the fund investors.