Abel’s Greykite and Croft’s Martley team up for UK multi-let industrial assault
[ Abel's Greykite and Croft's Martley ] team up for UK multi-let industrial assault
7 May 2025 | 08:15 | London | by David Hatcher
- What: Greykite has teamed up with Martley to buy multi-let industrial assets
- Why: To build the UK component of Greykite’s new Lagerhome platform
- What: next Around a third of its €1bn end portfolio is likely to be in the UK
Greykite has teamed up with Martley Capital to build the UK arm of a new €1bn multi-let industrial platform, Green Street News can reveal.
The strategic partnership between the firms will involve Martley creating a portfolio for Greykite’s Lagerhome business, which was launched last month, over the next 18 to 24 months. Although there has been no fixed proportion of Lagerhome’s overall target portfolio the UK will make up, it is estimated to be around a third.
Greykite and Martley have already made their debut purchase, a 100,000 sq ft industrial estate in Milton Keynes from a private investor for around £10m. The acquisition “offers asset management upside that will enable the fund to capture significant rental reversion”.
The relatively small deal size is expected to be typical of the UK strategy, which is likely to be created through the aggregation of granular assets to create a diversified income stream.
The partnership brings together two of European real estate’s best-known figures, Michael Abel and Richard Croft, who are the founders and chief executives of Greykite and Martley respectively.
Former TPG equity partner Abel founded Greykite last March with backing from Wafra’s Capital Constellation and Leucadia Asset Management, and has established itself as the most active new manager of the cycle in the European real estate market.
Martley was formed by Croft in 2023 and has around €1bn of assets under management across credit, equities and direct real estate. Croft is one of the founders and former chairman and chief executive of M7 Real Estate, and is considered an urban industrial pioneer, with M7 having assisted Blackstone in the build-up of Mileway ahead of its €21bn recapitalisation in 2022.
In addition to the UK, Lagerhome will also target the Swedish and German markets. The platform made its debut acquisition last month, with the purchase of a €140m portfolio from AP3’s Regio, comprising assets located around Stockholm and Gothenburg. Broadgate Asset Management has been brought on board by Greykite to undertake management of this portfolio.
Lagerhome is targeting assets “in liquid, supply-constrained markets underpinned by strong macroeconomic fundamentals and demographic growth, supporting sustained tenant demand and long-term rental growth”.
The multi-let strategy is Greykite’s fifth since the business was launched, with the manager also pursuing a Poland-specific logistics and data centre strategy, pan-European big boxes, German student accommodation and single-family UK housing.
“An ideal partner”
Abel said: “This partnership emphasises our commitment to working with bestin-class, local operators to deliver scalable industrial platforms. Martley’s experience in the industrial sector makes them an ideal partner to support the next phase of Lagerhome’s growth.
“We have strong conviction in the UK industrial sector, where structural undersupply, resilient tenant demand, and supportive long-term fundamentals, coupled with ongoing market dislocation, continues to present compelling investment opportunities.” Croft added: “We are very excited to be working with Greykite to help build the Lagerhome platform across the UK and other jurisdictions in Western Europe. The Greykite team share our conviction in the sector, and we believe that this is a market-leading partnership that will create a leading industrial investor over the next 18 to 24 months.”
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