Primary sale-leaseback and build-to-suit market specialist LCN Capital Partners has signed a deal to back the development of Jabil Inc.’s new 45,000 square meter facility in Osijek, Croatia.
The new manufacturing facility will be built and owned by LCN, which is slated to pay roughly €90 million ($99 million) in purchasing the land and development. The property will be leased to Jabil, a manufacturing solutions provider to over 450 brands. Nasdaq-listed Jabil is headquartered in the U.S. and has over 250,000 employees across 100 locations in 30 countries.
In this build-to-suit transaction, Jabil will have a long-term lease. Jabil also has the option to work with Log Expert and LCN to build a further expansion of 50,000 square meters of industrial space. The facility will provide comprehensive manufacturing solutions to customers in industries including renewable energy, electric vehicles, healthcare, 5G, and cloud networking.
The new facility will be one of the largest investments by a foreign company into Osijek and Croatia, and it will be Jabil’s largest manufacturing location in Central and Eastern Europe. Croatia has emerged as an attractive location for technology-related manufacturing due to its strong technical workforce, its location near major capitals, and its membership in the Schengen Area and the Eurozone.
“We are pleased to partner with Jabil, one of the world’s major manufacturing businesses with a strong balance sheet, an investment grade rating and a long history of growth, success and innovation,” said Ward Stocker, partner at LCN. “The transaction demonstrates how our build-to-suit capabilities provide a capital efficient option for leading firms that need to build mission critical real estate.”
The investment is coming from LCN European Fund IV, which has yet to hold its final close but follows the €600 million in capital raised for LCN European Fund III in 2021. The firm also raised €300 million for LCN European Fund II in 2017, and another €180 million in LCN European Fund in 2014.
Founded in 2011, LCN now manages $7 billion across several funds. The New York-based firm has European offices in Amsterdam, Cologne, London and Luxembourg.
