Box Equities, a real estate investment group focused on the consumer goods industrial sector, today announced that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Artemis Real Estate Partners, a Washington, DC – based private equity firm. Artemis has raised approximately $6 billion of capital across core, core plus, value-add and opportunistic strategies. The firm makes equity and debt investments in real estate across the United States.
Box Equities further announced the acquisition of a 500,000-square-foot warehouse in Kings Mountain, North Carolina with a single tenant, Hanesbrands. This brings the ten-month-old New York-based Box Equities’ portfolio of industrial real estate to more than 2.3 million square feet.
The new acquisition exemplifies Box Equities’ approach to real estate, which includes buying commercial properties in markets with loyal labor pools. The company also works closely with local economic development authorities to create jobs and generate investment opportunities in markets throughout the country. With this approach, Box Equities is responding to the acute demand for distribution and fulfillment centers that’s arisen as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the labor shortage exacerbated by the health crisis.
We very much value the Box team’s deep retail experience and relationships which give the partnership differentiated advantages. Box Equities has an innate understanding of the interaction between retailers and logistics, which gives our venture unique expertise to identify new opportunities.”
Mike Vu, Principal at Artemis.
The pandemic-forced closures of manufacturing facilities combined with unprecedented demand has led to a major disruption in the global logistics industry. Warehouse space and a reliable labor force have become increasingly more valuable as ecommerce continues to skyrocket.
“The current supply chain disruptions that we are seeing will continue into the foreseeable future,” said Haim Dabah, chairman of Box Equities. “Retailers and manufacturers today need a reliable and efficient labor force to move the products to consumers. By investing in areas with loyal labor pools, we are mitigating many of the problems that the logistics industry is currently experiencing.”
Mac Dabah, Managing Director of Box Equities, added, “We are very excited about our new partnership with Artemis and the wealth of knowledge, relationships, and resources they provide. As the supply chain crisis forces retailers and wholesalers to take a fresh look at facilities, locations, and labor availability, we are seeing many new opportunities which will accelerate the growth of this joint venture.”
Marc Belsky of Marc Belsky Ltd., who brokered the partnership, said, “I am pleased to have arranged this equity relationship between Artemis and Box. This very strategic partnership joins the $6 billion-dollar private equity fund with a team whose relationships extend directly into the C-suite of many Fortune 500 retailers. This partnership will provide Artemis and Box with the ability to quickly capitalize on market and tenant demand, as well as leasing insight not available to others.”
Box Equities’ four cofounders include retail and real estate veterans Haim Dabah, Mac Dabah, Ori Schwartz, and Michael Dabah. Their combined expertise at the intersection of retail, logistics and real estate uniquely positions Box Equities to help retailers unlock liquidity and enhance their balance sheets in a variety of ways, including through creative leasing solutions.
About Box Equities
Box Equities helps retailers rationalize their real estate to improve liquidity and profitability. Chairman Haim Dabah, a 40-year retail veteran, has extensive experience building and marketing digitally native brands. Dabah in 2007 sold Regatta to the then $20B Hong Kong-based global supply chain conglomerate Li & Fung. His son, Mac Dabah, cofounder and managing director of Box Equities, is an experienced commercial real estate investor with extensive logistics experience. Ori Schwartz, cofounder and director of acquisitions, is a seasoned real estate investment manager with a deep understanding of the e-commerce landscape, and general counsel Michael Dabah brings a strong grasp of the retail and real estate industries and a creative approach to complex commercial transactions.