Funds managed by Northleaf Capital Partners (Northleaf) have acquired a 90 per cent stake in Douglas Terminals from Hartree Partners (UK) Limited (Hartree) and Ghent Transport & Storage NV (GTS).Douglas Terminals is a 557,000-cubic metre liquid bulk storage terminal based in the Port of Ghent, Belgium. The facility consists of 17 high-quality tanks currently used for the storage of jet fuel, gasoil, diesel and biodiesel. Hartree and GTS started commercial operations at the terminal in 2017. GTS will retain a 10 per cent stake and continue to operate the terminal under a management services agreement. As part of the transaction, Hartree, GTS and Northleaf have agreed to jointly develop Max Terminals, a new liquid storage terminal to be located on land adjacent to the Douglas Terminals site.
“Direct investments in high-quality bulk liquid storage assets are consistent with Northleaf’s strategy and offer our investors significant potential for stable, long-term returns,” sasaysid Roderick Gadsby, Managing Director at Northleaf. “This investment further strengthens and diversifies Northleaf’s portfolio of bulk liquid storage assets that now includes investments in the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia and New Zealand.”
“We are delighted to announce this transaction and are confident that Northleaf is the right majority owner of Douglas Terminals, given its experience in the liquid storage sector,” says Heiko Voelker, Director at Hartree. “We look forward to partnering with Northleaf on the development of Max Terminals in the future.”
“We have found our ideal long-term partner in Northleaf and are pleased that it supports Douglas Terminals’ strategy going forward,” says Yves Bienfet, Owner at GTS. “We are eager to work together with them in relation to Douglas Terminals, the development of Max Terminals and future opportunities in liquid storage.”
