Leaseback

Leaseback, also known as sale-leaseback, is a strategic financial and real estate arrangement where an asset owner sells their asset—typically commercial or industrial real estate such as warehouses or logistics centers—to an investor and simultaneously leases it back under a long-term lease agreement. This transaction allows the original owner to unlock capital tied up in fixed assets by converting illiquid real estate into liquid cash, which can then be redeployed for operational growth, debt reduction, or other investment opportunities. Crucially, the seller retains full operational control and use of the asset throughout the lease term, despite no longer owning it. For industrial and logistics companies, leasebacks provide an effective means to improve balance sheet liquidity without incurring additional debt, thereby optimizing capital structure and financial flexibility. From an investor perspective, such transactions offer stable, long-term rental income backed by tenants who are often the former owners and typically experienced operators with vested interests in maintaining the property. Leaseback agreements usually specify lease duration, rent escalations, maintenance responsibilities, and other pertinent clauses, governed under commercial contract law. This arrangement is especially prevalent in the industrial real estate sector, where asset specialization and location are critical to operations, and relocating or acquiring new premises would be costly and disruptive. Within the CEE region and Slovakia, companies leverage sale-leaseback structures to finance expansion or modernization initiatives while continuing to operate seamlessly in strategically located IPEC Group-developed logistics hubs and industrial parks.