Provender Buys 2 New Hampshire Cold Storage Assets for $67M

219 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, N.H. Image courtesy of Provender Partners

Provender Partners has increased its cold storage footprint by a total of approximately 316,000 square feet with the recent acquisition of two properties in Londonderry, N.H. The company acquired the fully leased, Class A facilities at 6 Rockingham Road and 9 Rockingham Road from KPR Centers in a transaction valued at $67 million.

The competition for premier, 100 percent occupied industrial assets of any type is steep in today’s investment climate, yet Provender managed to purchase 6 and 219 Rockingham in an off-market deal.

“We identified the [cold storage] asset class as an attractive investment nearly 10 years ago, well before many of our competitors. While it is a competitive market, our track record of acquiring temperature-controlled, food-related industrial buildings has helped us to develop deep relationships in the space, which in turn has helped us see many deals before they go to market,” Neil Johnson, founder & CEO of Provender Partners, told Commercial Property Executive.

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Provender’s new purchases are within close proximity to Interstate 93 and 45 miles north of Boston’s central business district, providing access to a population of more than 87 million within a day’s truck drive. Both 6 and 219 Rockingham are leased to ReallyCold, which operates the facilities as Highwood Cold Storage and Londonderry Freezer Warehouse, respectively. The properties last traded less than one year ago, when KPR acquired the facilities for a total of $46.6 million in April 2021, with the assistance of a $39.2 million first mortgage bridge loan through RMR Mortgage Trust.

219 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, N.H. Image courtesy of Provender Partners

Built on a nearly 13-acre site in 2002, 6 Rockingham is an approximately 124,100-square-foot cold storage warehouse that encompasses roughly 90,000 square feet of freezer space, 14,100 square feet of refrigerated dock space, 6,000 square feet of cooler/freezer accommodations and 5,300 square feet of office space. The property underwent an expansion in 2005 and presently offers 14,000 pallet positions.

219 Rockingham opened in 1998, offering 191,800 square feet on just over 14 acres. The facility, which provides 24,000 pallet positions, features approximately 155,300 square feet of freezer space, 10,200 square feet of refrigerated dock space and 7,200 square feet of office space. “The buildings are in very good condition; very little improvements are needed or planned,” Johnson noted.

Newmark‘s Kevin Griffiths represented Provender in the transaction, while Brian Pinch, also of Newmark stood in for the seller.

Feeding a hungry market

Cold storage demand has skyrocketed, fueled by the pandemic-induced increase in consumer preferences for grocery deliveries and meal kits, in addition to pharmaceutical companies’ ongoing requirement for refrigerated accommodations. According to Emergen Research, cold storage construction is forecasted to increase 14 percent annually, reaching an estimated $18.6 billion in value globally by 2027. Provender has been highly acquisitive in the sector, having purchased 2 million square feet of food-related industrial assets in 2021. There’s more to come.

“We have a large equity commitment from a major institution and plan to invest hundreds of millions of equity in 2022 nationally through all investment types—vacant buildings, leased buildings, build-to-suits, etcetera,” Johnson said.