European logistics property developer-investor VGP is joining forces with Baltic asset manager East Capital to launch a European logistics property fund.
The new vehicle will target the acquisition of at least €1.5 bn of gross assets developed by VGP with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe. It is planning to carry out a first close later this year.
It is one of a number of new investment strategies launched this week.
Dutch pension fund ABP is establishing an Affordable Living Venture with Vesteda, aimed at accelerating the development of affordable rental housing across the Netherlands.
With an initial commitment of €400m, ABP is enabling the development of more than 1,100 new rental homes across the Netherlands. At least half of these homes will fall within the mid‑rent segment, in accordance with the Affordable Rent Act.
In the UK, MCR Property Group has launched Flow Student, a national purpose-built student accommodation brand and operating platform that owns and operates its 6,000-bed UK student portfolio, while in Ireland, IPUT raised €175m in new equity from CBRE Investment Management Indirect Strategies to continue to grow its prime Dublin office portfolio.
| Recently completed deals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset | Asset type | Location | Buyer | Vendor | Size | Price (mln) | Key facts |
| 50% stake in GoCO Health Innovation City | life science | Molndal, Sweden | Vectura | Next Step Group | 52,000mn2 | €140 (SEK1500) | With the deal, Balder is taking full control of the site. |
| Grove Court properties | mixed | London | Custodian Property | Pilling family | 7 assets | £36 (€41) | The portfolio has around 97% occupancy, and generates an annual rent of £2.7m. |
| Kingsgate shopping centre | retail | Huddersfield, UK | Northdale Advisors | WD Kingsgate | 280,000sqft | £32 (€37) | The asset was put up for sale last summer. |
| Hertziahuset | office | Gothenburg | Folksam | Vasakronan | 4,900m2 | €28 (SEK300) | The asset was originally constructed in 1901. |
| two logistics assets | logistics | Aalsmeer, the Netherlands | Bowery Europe, King Street Capital Management | NA | 50,000m2 | NA | The two newly acquired assets serve as key facilities to its occupiers operating in the flower distribution business. |
| development site | development | Leeds | BlueCastle Capital | Prescient Capital | NA | NA | The site benefits from an existing planning consent for a BTR development comprising 348 homes. |
| Sienna Real Estate platform | corporate | Europe | Atland | Groupe Bruxelles Lambert | NA | NA | The Atland–Sienna tie up creates a cross border investor with life sciences credentials. |
| logistics asset | logistics | Duisburg, Germany | KKR and Mirastar | AP Moller-Maersk | 47,000m2 | NA | The property has been leased back by the Danish company. |
| Camino 1 asset | living | San Sebastian, Spain | Impar Capital | NA | 34 apartments | NA | The company is investing €85m to turn the mixed-use asset into a residential complex. |
| majority stake in the Höfe am Brühl shopping center | retail | Leipzig, Germany | Investika Real Estate Fund | URW | 50,500m2 | NA | The property comprises 130 retail units. |
| mixed-use development | mixed | Manheim, Germany | Orion Capital Managers | insolvency administrator | 32,600m2 | NA | The development includes 105 residential and 11 commercial units, which are 95% complete, alongside a 325-key hotel, 130 serviced apartments and some office space. |
| Park Wilson | hotel | Colomiers, France | Holding Financière Hadhoum | Acer Finance | 123 rooms | NA | The asset is located near the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. |
| Assets on the market | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asset | Asset type | Location | Vendor | Size | Price (mln) | Broker | Key facts |
| Grand Hyatt Barcelona | hotel | Barcelona | AXA and Blasson | 465rooms | €300 | NA | The asset was recently renovated and reopened in 2024. |
| One Molesworth Street | office | Dublin | Henderson Park | NA | €110 | NA | The owner is preparing to bring the asset for sale. The property generates close to €6m a year in rental income. |
| Leatherworks development and Wireworks scheme | living | Nottingham and Birmingham | Adobe | 522 beds | £80 (€92) | NA | The owner is looking for investors to back the development schemes. |
| Graduate hotel by Hilton | hotel | Cambridge | AJ Capital Partners | 148 rooms | £65 (€74) | CBRE | The hotel underwent a multi-million pound refurbishment in 2021. |
| Cambridge Leisure Park | retail | Cambridge | Landsec | 184,210sqft | £50 (€57) | NA | Workman was appointed in December to manage LandSec’s leisure parks. |
| Scandia House | retail | London | Private investor | 10,342sqft | £28 (€32) | Knight Frank | The property was home to Marlborough Gallery until June 2024 when the gallery ceased operations. |
| former St Mary’s Carmelite seminary | mixed | Dublin | Joe and Margaret Scally | 35,575sqft | €12 | Savills | The vendors secured planning permission, which has since lapsed, for the construction of a 163-bedroom hotel on the site. |
| Novotel London Greenwich | hotel | London | Nine Group | 93,646sqft | NA | JLL | The asset provides 151 rooms. |
.
| Recently completed loans | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lender(s) | Borrower(s) | Asset(s) | Loan Size (mln) | Key facts |
| Maslow Capital | YourTRIBE | London student housing asset | £117 (€134) | The scheme, which is located close to Wembley Stadium, will deliver 609 PBSA beds. |
| Cheyne Capital | Avanton | THE BeCa scheme in London’s Bemondsey | £92 (€105) | The facility will fund the construction of the scheme. |
| Deutsche Hypo – Nord/LB Real Estate | Achmea | Dutch retail property portfolio | €50 | The ADRPF portfolio comprises over €900m in assets, spread across 87 properties in the Netherlands. |
| Deutsche Hypo – NORD/LB Real Estate Finance | Olivia Centre | office building in Gdańsk, Poland | €39 | Olivia Prime A and Olivia Prime B offer a total area of around 56,000 m2. |
| Cynergy | Samko Holdings | UK hotel portfolio | £31 (€35) | The funding will be used to add new rooms and acquire further sites for Samko’s regional hotels portfolio. |
| Leumi UK | Magnetar | Kingsgate Shopping Centre in Huddersfield and Stanley Square in greater Manchester | £26 (€30) | The loan is to fund the acquisition of the schemes. |
| Pbb | Urban Partners und HIH Invest | two logistics projects | NA | The assets will be developed in Herten and Bensheim, Germany. |
| CMBS Investors | Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank | Blackstone’s social housing portfolio | NA | The security is securitised against an £850m portfolio. |
| New mandates/JVs and funds on the market | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Firm | Fund/mandate/JV | Strategy | Details |
| Scottish Borders pension | M&G UK Social Investment Fund | Targeting affordable housing, regeneration, clean energy and essential infrastructure across the UK | The soon-to-be-launched fund received a £30m commitment. |
| CBRE IM | IPUT Real Estate | Focusing on prime Dublin offices | CBRE IM has increased its investment in IPUT by €175m. |
| The capital will be used to finance a €500m office investment programme. | |||
| MCR Property Group | Flow Student | Building up a PBSA portfolio in the UK | Group targeting £1bn student homes portfolio by the end of the year. |
| VGP and East Capital | Pan European logistics fund | Targeting the acquisition of at least € 1.5bn of gross asset value developed by VGP with an emphasis on Central and Eastern Europe. | The Group is targeting a first closing with the fund in 2026. |
| ABP and Vesteda | Affordable Living Venture | Accelerating the development of affordable rental housing across the Netherlands | With an initial commitment of €400m, ABP is enabling the development of more than 1,100 new rental homes across the Netherlands. |
