New KKR wing buys into LA, OC

UPDATED, Feb. 1, 2022, 4:00 p.m.: Strategic Lease Partners, a newly formed real estate investor backed by KKR, has picked up five manufacturing and distribution sites across Los Angeles and Orange Counties, The Real Deal has learned.

The firm bought five properties for $45.7 million from water marketer BlueTriton Brands, according to county deed records.

BlueTriton Brands, formerly Nestlé Water North America, will lease all of the properties back, lease documents show.

Barclays provided $600 million in financing in connection with the acquisitions, which were part of a larger portfolio deal.

In January, Strategic Lease Partners said it spent $780 million on acquisitions in the fourth quarter across six portfolio transactions. One of those portfolios comprised 20 properties across the U.S., with the majority leased to a “global beverage brand on a long-term basis.”

Strategic Lease Partners declined to comment. BlueTriton Brands did not respond to a request for comment.

Strategic Lease Partners got four properties in Los Angeles County: 1566 East Washington Boulevard, 4250 North Baldwin Avenue in El Monte, 9400 North Mason Avenue in Chatsworth and 13109 Budlong Avenue in Gardena.

The property on Washington Boulevard is currently a beverage processing plant across three acres zoned for limited industrial uses. All of the other properties are older distribution and manufacturing facilities under 10,000 square feet in size.

In Orange County, the firm spent $4.67 million on a 14,800-square-foot complex at 619 North Main Street in Orange.

Founded in August, Strategic Lease Partners focuses on sale-leaseback deals and purchasing triple-net leased properties, where the tenant agrees to pay all property expenses for the site.