Blackstone, Lunate Forge $5 Bn GCC Logistics Venture

Blackstone and Abu Dhabi-based Lunate have launched a joint platform, GLIDE, targeting $5 billion in logistics investments across GCC countries. The venture will focus on Grade-A warehouse developments, selective acquisitions and sale-and-leaseback deals to address a widening infrastructure gap.

The platform combines Blackstone’s global logistics scale—owning more than 1.2 billion square feet of logistics assets globally—and Lunate’s regional network and insights. GLIDE plans to deploy capital across all six GCC nations: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

GLIDE’s investment mandate emphasises greenfield development of modern logistics hubs, along with acquiring existing portfolios and engaging in sale-and-leaseback deals with established regional firms. The choice of strategy indicates a dual approach: building capacity where infrastructure is lacking, and optimising existing assets for quicker returns.

Jon Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer at Blackstone, stated that the economic transformation underway in the GCC—borne out of policy reforms, demographic trends and diversification agendas—is generating strong demand for modern logistics infrastructure. Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Managing Partner at Lunate, added that GLIDE “combines global scale with regional expertise” and would offer investors compelling access to the logistics boom.

Analysts view logistics as a critical component of the GCC’s broader push into industrialisation, e-commerce and supply-chain regionalisation. The sector has long suffered from a shortage of world-class warehouse facilities meeting international specifications—particularly in peripheral or underserved markets. Data from market research firms project the Gulf freight and logistics market could swell to nearly $110 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of roughly 6.2 %.

Blackstone has been actively scaling its footprint in the Middle East in recent years, including a $525 million co-investment in Dubai’s real estate tech firm Property Finder. That transaction underscores its interest in both real assets and tech-adjacent infrastructure across the region.

Given the strategic importance of the logistics sector to national visions—such as UAE’s Industrial Strategy 2030, Saudi Vision 2030 and Qatar National Vision—GLIDE’s timing is seen by many as well aligned with regional economic roadmaps. Governments across the GCC have been offering incentives for infrastructure investment, public-private partnerships and land allocation to support expansion of logistics corridors.

Still, GLIDE must navigate several challenges: land acquisition complexities, alignment with local zoning and permitting regimes, competition from regional logistics developers, and potential geopolitical or supply-chain disruptions that could affect capital deployment. Some regional operators, particularly local sovereign wealth and logistics firms, may resist ceding control or being dislocated by large global platforms. To mitigate these risks, the venture aims to onboard additional regional partners and staff dedicated teams in each market.

GLIDE will compete with existing Gulf logistics investors and global platforms eyeing similar opportunities. Its success may depend on execution speed, local regulatory adaptation, and the ability to offer integrated solutions to industrial, retail and e-commerce clients.