BluePeak Private Capital, an alternative asset management firm focusing on Africa, has publicized its investment in Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited (Grit).
The investment operationalises Grit’s development plan to increase industrial and health facilities in East Africa, improving access to essential goods and quality healthcare.
BluePeak partnered with Ethos Mezzanine Partners, to jointly invest US$ 31.5 million in Grit in a transaction led by Ethos Mezzanine Partners.
The deal marks the inaugural BluePeak Private Capital Fund SCSp (the Fund) investment, an impact-linked private credit and mezzanine finance facility raised during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grit’s portfolio covers 54 investments across more than eight countries and five asset classes since founded in 2014 by Bronwyn Knight,
BluePeak designs innovative financing solutions to scale mid-sized African businesses.
The Fund reached its first close at $115 million in September 2021 and is targeting a final close of $200 million later this year, with a hard cap of $250 million.
It provides vital growth capital to non-cyclical, growing firms, enabling them to accelerate innovation and transformation strategies and emerge stronger and more resilient from the pandemic.
BluePeak’s proficiency in structuring allows the team to offer bespoke debt instruments, including mezzanine finance, preferred equity, convertibles, and senior debt.
Investments are considered to maximize participation and impact for women and marginalised groups and target sectors, which uplift the quality of life for millions of people.
Managing Director, BluePeak Private Capital, Adam Hadidi, noted: “Grit has built one of the largest and most diversified real estate platforms across Africa and proven the resilience of its portfolio.
“We are pleased to support Orbit’s acquisition and redevelopment of a one-of-a-kind industrial asset in Kenya.
Grit will invest the remaining proceeds of the investment into St Helene Private Hospitaal, a freely accessible multi-specialty hospital in the Curepipe region of Mauritius, one of the island’s most densely populated areas, where there is urgent demand for quality health care.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Grit, Bronwyn Knight, said: “We are excited to start this long-term partnership with the IFC, BluePeak and Ethos Mezzanine Partners on the strength of a robust and well-established East African tenant covenant and an accretive investment and redevelopment project in a prime location.
“The funding will allow Grit to increase its exposure to Kenya, the broader light industrial sector, and Mauritius’s healthcare sector.”
Proceeds from the Fund’s inaugural investment into Grit will be deployed to partially fund the acquisition (on a sale and leaseback basis), restoration, and expansion of a prominent warehousing and manufacturing facility in Nairobi by Orbit Africa (“Orbit”). Orbit is a pioneering manufacturer of personal and home care hygiene products in the East African region.
The total purchase, refurbishment, and expansion cost of US$ 53.6 million are actualised by a US$ 25 million senior debt structure backed by the International Finance Corporation (“IFC”), a member of the World Bank Group, and US$ 28.6 million through the investment provided by BluePeak and Ethos. As one of the largest sale and leaseback transactions across sub-Saharan Africa, the deal bolsters Orbit’s balance sheet and unlocks additional cash flow to enable the company’s expansion, increasing production to meet rising consumer demand.
