Northwind-Backed Industrial Platform
Flex Warehouse Park acquires, improves, develops and operates small-bay industrial properties — the functional, right-sized space that contractors, trades, distributors and local operating businesses depend on.
The Opportunity
For much of the last decade, institutional attention in industrial real estate followed big-box logistics and distribution — large floorplates leased to large occupiers. Small-bay industrial serves a different part of the economy, and has been comparatively overlooked.
The businesses that occupy small-bay space are not national logistics operators. They are the electrician with four vans, the cabinet maker with a CNC router, the e-commerce seller who outgrew a spare room, the HVAC contractor who needs secure parking and a place to hold inventory.
They need roughly 1,000 to 5,000 square feet — with a roll-up door, adequate power and a real business address — rather than the 10,000 to 50,000+ square feet a conventional industrial building delivers.
62%
Of 2024 industrial transaction volume was under 150,000 SF
Institutional buyers accounted for 20% of that light industrial volume, up from 16% in 2023.
61%
Of net new US job creation since 1995 came from small businesses
Small businesses represent 99% of all firms and 46% of private sector employees.
Source: Corebridge Financial, “Light Industrial Outlook: Small Bay, Big Play” , June 2025.
Who occupies the space
Why Small-Bay
These are investment themes we underwrite against — not guaranteed outcomes. Each is tested asset by asset.
01
A diversified base of contractors, trades, distributors and service businesses requires functional industrial space near the customers they serve. This demand is generated by local economic activity rather than by any single national tenant or supply chain.
02
Much of the small-bay stock remains held by local operators, founding families and individual investors. Fragmentation is what creates the opportunity to aggregate, professionalise and operate at a scale the individual owner cannot.
03
Small-bay inventory is difficult to replicate economically in desirable infill locations. Construction pricing, land basis and the fixed costs of subdividing space all work against new small-format supply.
04
A building leased to many small tenants behaves differently from one leased to a single occupier. No single expiry defines the asset, and income is spread across a wider set of businesses and industries.
05
Leasing, property management, capital improvements, unit reconfiguration, brand standards and tenant experience are levers an operator controls directly. We believe returns in this segment are earned through operations, not assumed through cap rate compression.
06
A repeatable property-level model — consistent unit sizes, specifications, systems and standards — can be extended across assets and markets, building density where operating leverage is strongest.
4.8%
Vacancy for industrial properties under 150,000 SF
50%+
Shallow-bay asking rent growth since 2010
0.5%
Small-bay under construction as a share of existing stock
80%
Of shallow-bay inventory built before 2000
Source: CBRE, “Shallow-Bay Industrial Availability Remains Tight Amid Strong Demand” , March 24, 2026.
Source: Corebridge Financial, “Light Industrial Outlook: Small Bay, Big Play” , June 2025.
The Demand Gap
Businesses do not step straight from a garage into a distribution centre. They move through a progression — and one rung of it is structurally under-supplied.
Under 500 SF
The business starts where the owner lives. Inventory in the garage, vehicles on the driveway, no separation between household and operation.
100 – 500 SF
Storage solves square footage but not operations. No power for tools, no drive-in access for a loaded vehicle, no address a business can actually run from.
1,000 – 5,000 SF
Small-Bay Industrial
A right-sized unit with a roll-up door, power, clear height and a real business address. Room for vehicles, crew, inventory and a small office — at a rent a growing local business can carry.
10,000 SF +
Conventional warehouse and distribution product, generally underwritten by institutional capital for larger and better-capitalised occupiers.
The gap we focus on. A business that has outgrown a garage or a storage unit, but cannot justify — or find — a conventional industrial building, has limited options. That constraint is the tenant's problem. It is also, in our view, the investor's opportunity.
Our Strategy
A repeatable, operationally intensive model applied consistently across assets and markets.
Identify assets, portfolios and development sites through brokers, owners and direct relationships in each target market.
Property-level underwriting and market analysis. Rent roll, unit mix, physical condition, basis relative to replacement cost and realistic operating assumptions.
Disciplined basis and an appropriate capital structure. We would rather pass on an asset than underwrite to a number that requires everything to go right.
Physical upgrades, unit optimisation, life-safety and building systems, façade, lighting, drive courts and signage.
Professional leasing to local businesses in right-sized units, with clear terms and a consistent standard of presentation.
Centralised management, maintenance standards, consistent branding and responsive tenant service across the portfolio.
Use leasing and operating data — enquiry volume, unit-size demand, downtime, renewal behaviour — to refine pricing, unit mix and capital allocation.
Build density within markets so that management, leasing and maintenance carry across a cluster of assets rather than a single building.
Property Profile
General criteria. We would rather review an opportunity that is close than miss one because it did not fit a narrow box.
Operating Model
Small-bay industrial is management-intensive by nature. More tenants, more leases, more turnover, more touchpoints. We treat that intensity as the source of the advantage rather than a cost to be minimised.
01
Well-located small-bay industrial assets acquired at a disciplined basis.
02
Centralised leasing, management and maintenance standards applied consistently.
03
A recognisable, professional standard that distinguishes the space a tenant chooses.
04
Enquiry, leasing and operating data that informs pricing, unit mix and acquisitions.
Result
A scalable small-bay industrial platform
Disciplined acquisitions alone produce a collection of buildings. Combining them with centralised operations, a consistent brand and real market intelligence is what we believe turns a collection of buildings into a platform.
Markets
We study markets before we commit to them. Our criteria are consistent even as the specific geographies evolve: durable small-business formation, constrained small-format supply, and enough depth to build density rather than own a single isolated building.
Market Screen
Small-business density
Formation and survival rates across the trades and service sectors that occupy small-bay space.
Supply constraint
Existing small-format inventory, age of stock, and what new construction economics actually permit.
Rent and basis
Achievable rents relative to replacement cost and the basis at which assets can be acquired.
Depth for density
Enough addressable inventory to build a cluster, not a one-off.
Platform
Flex Warehouse Park is the dedicated small-bay industrial platform of Northwind Investment Group, operating within its broader real estate platform.
That relationship shapes how we work: disciplined underwriting, a long-term ownership horizon, alignment between the platform and its partners, and responsible capital allocation. We would rather hold a smaller number of well-bought assets and operate them properly than accumulate square footage for its own sake.
Visit Northwind Investment GroupRelationships
For individuals, family offices, advisors and institutions evaluating exposure to small-bay industrial. We are glad to walk through the strategy, the underwriting approach and how we think about the segment.
Discuss the StrategyWe review small-bay industrial, flex and light industrial opportunities on a continuous basis — on and off market, single assets and portfolios. Broker relationships are respected and protected.
Submit an OpportunityWe value long-duration lending relationships and partners who understand operationally intensive real estate. We are open to conversations well ahead of any specific financing need.
Start a ConversationRelationships
We welcome conversations with investors, brokers, owners, lenders and strategic partners who share our long-term perspective on this segment.