Blackbrook, a specialist European real estate investor focusing on future-proof supply chain infrastructure, has today announced that it will merge with the privately held investment firm Cain International (‘Cain’), as the firms expand their reach across European alternatives markets.
Founded in 2014, Cain is a privately held investment firm operating in UK, Continental Europe and the United States. The firm invests in real estate credit, equity, and experiential businesses.
The merged entity will retain the name Cain International and bring the firms’ combined assets under management to over $17 billion with the teams working together at new global headquarters offices located at 72 Welbeck Street in London.
Under the new structure, Blackbrook will continue operating as a subsidiary of Cain, and the Blackbrook portfolio will be managed by Cain’s investment adviser. Its focus will continue on future-proof supply chain infrastructure, including logistics investment & development as well as net lease, build to suit and sale-leaseback transactions across Europe, with the investments team led by Jon Strang.
As of 1 May 2024, Arvi Luoma, co-founder and CEO of Blackbrook, will lead Cain’s European equity investment strategies, reporting to Jonathan Goldstein, CEO of Cain.
In 2023, Cain completed the construction development of its inaugural logistics portfolio comprising seven sites in the U.K. Combined, the strategies hold approximately 930k sqm (10m sqft) of logistics assets under management across Europe.
Jonathan Goldstein, CEO and co-founder of Cain International, said: “This is an exciting milestone in the ongoing growth and development of Cain’s business. We are confident that Blackbrook’s deep expertise will significantly bolster the firm’s strengths as we continue to expand our reach across the European alternatives sectors.”
Arvi Luoma, CEO and co-founder of Blackbrook, said: “Since Blackbrook’s launch in 2020, we’ve built a strong track record of acquiring and developing mission critical net lease real estate, as well as Class-A logistics assets in core locations with material supply-demand imbalance. This next chapter is an exciting one and I, along with Gordon, look forward helping drive new synergies across the Cain and Blackbrook teams to further enhance and grow our combined pan-European strategies.”
