Inospace Acquires Landmark Paarden Eiland Property From Liquidated Ship Builder
Inospace Acquires Landmark Paarden Eiland Property From Liquidated Ship Builder. Inospace, South Africa’s leading owner and operator of serviced last-mile logistics parks, has acquired a landmark A-grade industrial facility in Paarden Eiland for R75m from the liquidators of Nautic Africa, a shipbuilder.
The vacant property, purchased at a rate of R8 900/m2, has a gross lettable area (GLA) of 8 400m2 under a 22-metre-high roof that offered space for warehousing and manufacturing of ships. Built in 2016 and located across the road from one of Inospace’s properties, it is one of the tallest buildings in the industrial node with five storeys of office space. It will be repositioned and integrated into Inospace’s growing network of properties.
“The acquisition is in line with Inospace’s strategy to increase portfolio exposure to high-quality industrial real estate with a focus on last-mile logistics, urban logistics and warehousing within the Cape Town metropole,” says CEO Rael Levitt. Levitt says there has been significant interest from other ship and boat builders. However, Inospace’s business model is to convert large industrial buildings into multi-let serviced logistics parks. “We are looking at all options, such as adding another floor and introducing our range of products, like last-mile logistics spaces, workspaces, storage and a fulfilment warehouse.”
Paarden Eiland, a prime industrial node situated along the N1 highway outside Cape Town’s CBD, has experienced substantial growth in the last decade, mainly because it is the closest industrial area to the city. This is a strategic nodal focus for Inospace, the largest owner of assets in the area. With the acquisition, Inospace will have five sites in the area, including Island Works, Island Workshops, Island Studios and Metalheads.
