Blackstone has appointed former Goodman European logistics fund director Emmanuel Van der Stichele to lead a newly launched €8bn pan-European last-mile logistics real estate company.

Headquartered in Amsterdam, Mileway will own and operate approximately 1,000 logistics assets that have been acquired by real estate funds managed by Blackstone over the past several years.

Mileway’s last-mile logistics properties are located in urban centres across Europe’s largest economies, including the UK, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and the Nordics, Blackstone said, adding that the company will continue to expand its portfolio in existing and new markets.

Van der Stichele, who worked as fund director at Goodman from 2011 to 2018, will be supported by Dominiek Van Oost as COO and Thomas ten Bokum as the new head of investment and portfolio management.

James Seppala, head of Blackstone Real Estate Europe, said: “Mileway is a natural evolution of our European logistics strategy, which is one of our highest conviction, long-term investment themes.

“As the largest last-mile logistics real estate company in Europe, Mileway will meet growing e-commerce-related demand for last-mile logistics real estate, facilitate faster delivery times and support the growth of small and large businesses.”

Van der Stichele said: “The growth of e-commerce and urbanisation is intensifying the requirement for faster logistics solutions.

“Mileway is the number one gateway to urban markets, and we are uniquely positioned to help businesses shorten delivery times, grow their customer base and scale geographically.”