Spanish investment manager Valfondo is launching its first European logistics development fund after receiving backing from a major US investment group.
The firm, which is behind the creation of the €1.5bn Montepino REIT logistics platform in Spain, has raised an initial €160m of equity with the potential for a further €140m in the future. With leverage of up to 60%, the new vehicle is looking to build up a portfolio of up to €500m across major Western European countries such as France, Germany, The Netherlands and Northern Italy.
The newly launched investment vehicle has completed its first acquisition in Valenciennes, France, where it will develop a logistics platform encompassing almost 100,000sqm. With a total investment of €67m, this project is expected to be France’s largest logistics development this year. The platform will be occupied by Action, the Dutch non-food discount retailer.
In total, the newly-launched European fund will focus on delivering five to seven build-to-suit logistics projects of over 20,000sqm in collaboration with its largest tenants across key Western European markets over a three-year period. The company is currently in discussions on two other developments in Germany.
Juan José Vera, CEO of Valfondo IM, said the operation “represents a turning point for the company”. “With this strategy, we reaffirm our commitment to developing best-in-class, sustainable logistics assets in Europe’s main markets.”
This week also saw new capital being raised by Realterm, Fidelity International and Thriving Investments for logistics and living strategies.
In the finance section, Barings secured a £97m finance package for a major residential scheme near Leeds while GSA won an £87m refinancing from Investec for a portfolio of five PBSA assets in the UK. In Rome’s San Lorenzo district, hybrid hospitality firm The Social Hub announced the opening of its landmark regeneration including a four-star hotel alongside coworking, dining outlets, meeting & events spaces, and a vast public park. Development of the asset was financed by a €145m loan from Unicredit.
A number of new assets came up for sale including a €185m luxury resort on the Baltic Sea. The Weissenhaus estate features 40 restored historic buildings, 70 suites, villas, and grand residences, a 27,000sqft spa, and four dining experiences.
Recently completed deals | |||||||
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Asset | Asset type | Location | Buyer | Vendor | Size | Price (mln) | Key facts |
retail park portfolio | retail | Ireland | Realty Income | Oaktree Capital Management | NA | €220 | The portfolio includes eight schemes in Navan, Bray, Waterford, Naas, Drogheda Galway, Sligo and Limerick. |
One Portsoken Street | office | London | Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank | Alfred Equities | 238,874 ft2 | £160 (€192) | The building is fully let to two tenants, Northeastern University and BPP University. |
PBSA development | living | Stratford, UK | M&G Real Estate | HG Living | 500 rooms | £135 (€162) | Now underway, the development of N16 Stratford is expected to be ready for students in the 2028/29 academic year. |
logistics portfolio | logistics | Sweden, Denmark | Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Fokus Nordic | Blackstone | 92,000 m2 | €160 | The portfolio comprises three assets in Stockholm and Gothenburg in Sweden; and two in Copenhagen, Denmark. |
16% of Företagsparken | logistics | Sweden | Bain Capital | Management | 200 properties | €150 | The investment will enable the company to acquire new assets and expand its existing portfolio. |
portfolio of 3 assets | office | Umeå, Sweden | Diös | Lerstenen | 73,000 m2 | €148 (SEK1600) | The rental value amounts to €11.95m and the initial yield to 6.0%. |
Spring Mews student accommodation development | living | Vauxhall, London | Rosethorn Capital Partners and Barings | CLS | 378 bedrooms | £101 (€121) | The purchase price is in line with the 31 December 2024 valuation. |
One Chapel Place | office | London | GPE | NA | 34,230 ft2 | £56 (€67) | The building is fully let at an annual rent of around £2.5m per year. |
2-4 Rue Louis David | office | Paris | CBRE IM | Noe REIM and Allianz Immovalor | 5,800 m2 | €67 | Originally built in 1957 and renovated in 2000, the asset features a seven-storey layout, an internal courtyard, and multiple terraces. |
The Tuscam Trading Estate | logistics | Camberley, Surrey | ARGO and Blue Coast Capital | NA | 183,000 ft2 | £40 (€48) | The deal is part of a new £500m brown-to-green urban logistics strategy. |
St John’s Retail Park | retail | Wolverhampton, UK | Brookhouse Group | DTZ | 111,598 ft2 | £16.5 (€20) | The sale reflects a 7.4% net initial yield. |
Linkway Retail Park | retail | Cannock, UK | Sienna Investment Managers | DTZ | 106,431 ft2 | £16.45 (€20) | The sale reflects a 7.2% net initial yield. |
logistics warehouse | logistics | Caorso (Piacenza), northern Italy | Fondo Industriale Italia | Barings | 30,500 m2 | NA | The asset was completed in late 2024 and obtained the LEED Gold certificate. |
Sosnowiec Plaza, Ruda Ślaska Plaza, Rybnik Plaza shopping centres | retail | Poland | Focus Estate Fund | Klépierre | 46,000 m2 | NA | The assets were acquired back in 2005. |
development plot | development | North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany | Swiss Life Asset Managers | NA | 45,000 m2 | NA | The new owner plans to build a modern logistics property with rental space of almost 24,700 m2. |
20% interest in the Lendlease Moorfields Investment Partnership which holds 21 Moorfields office building | office | London | Sotetsu Urban Creates and Yasuda Real Estate | Lendlease | 568,500 ft2 | NA | The asset is let to Deutsche Bank on a 25-year lease. |
performing European commercial real estate development and investment loan portfolio | debt | Ireland, Spain, Portugal | Hayfin Capital Management | Oaktree Capital Management | NA | NA | The loan portfolio is secured against a pool of hotel, residential and office assets located in gateway cities across Ireland, Spain and Portugal. |
new logistics building | logistics | Mechelen, Belgium | Deka Immobilien | MG Real Estate | 71,500 m2 | NA | The asset is fully leased on a long-term basis to a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational food manufacturing company Kellanova, formerly Kellogg’s. |
189 single-family homes | living | Houghton Regis, UK | Aviva Investors | Dandara | 189 homes | NA | The forward funding deal is fifth single-family-housing development to be delivered by Dandara, in partnership with Aviva. |
Brainport Industries Campus (BIC) | mixed | Eindhoven, The Netherlands | Municipality of Eindhoven | Capreon | 105,000 m2 | NA | The site houses 2,500 workers and students. |
Assets on the market | |||||||
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Asset | Asset type | Location | Vendor | Size | Price (mln) | Broker | Key facts |
W Hotel at Leicester Square | hotel | London | Qatari’s Al Faisal | 192 rooms | £300 (€360) | NA | The owner is weighing a sale of the asset which it bought in 2011. |
Worship Square at 65 Clifton St | office | London | HB Reavis | 140,000 ft2 | £200 (€239) | CBRE | Payments firm Wise moved into the building earlier in March. |
One Spencer Dock | office | Dublin | AGC Equity Partners | 226,624 m2 | €200 | NA | PwC, which uses the building as its headquarters, signed a 25-year lease in April 2007 that expires in April 2032. |
Weissenhaus | resort | Germany | NA | 90 bedrooms | €185 | Sotheby’s International Realty Sylt | Situated on the Baltic Sea, the estate features 40 restored historic buildings, 70 exquisite suites, villas, and grand residences, a 27,000 ft2 spa, and four dining experiences. |
The Parks Collection | retail | Ireland | Marlet | 3 assets | €120 | C&W | The portfolio comprises Belgard Retail Park in Tallaght, the M1 Retail Park in Drogheda and Poppyfield Retail Park in Clonmel. |
129-137 Kensington High Street | mixed | London | DTZ Investors | 24,334 ft2 | £27 (€32) | NA | The sale reflects a net initial yield of 5.5%. |
The Arc portfolio | industrial | Dublin | Interpath | 11 assets | €30 | Harvey | The portfolio has a current annual rent roll of €1.84m (5.6% NIY) and a WAULT of five years to the earliest termination. |
56-64 Leonard Street | office | London | City Developments | 28,266 ft2 | NA | NA | The £110m development was bought from Ethical Property for £37.4m in 2016. |
Recently completed loans | ||||
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Lender(s) | Borrower(s) | Asset(s) | Loan Size (mln) | Key facts |
Bond investors | VGP | Unsecured | €500 | The five-year green bond pays a coupon of 4.25%. |
HSBC, Bank of Ireland, NatWest and Santander | Warehouse REIT | Company portfolio | £300 (€359) | The margin of 1.75% is 45 basis points below the previous margin. The new three-year facility comprises a £200m term loan and £100m RCF. |
Homes England, Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF) and West Yorkshire Pension Fund (WYPF) | Barings | major residential scheme near Leeds | £97 (€116) | Homes England, GMPF and WYPF will provide a £91m loan over a four-year term. In addition to this, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority has provided a £5.7m grant from its brownfield housing fund. |
Investec Bank | Global Student Accommodation | 5 PBSA aassets across the UK | £86.5 (€103.5) | The refinancing loan is secured against 1,460 beds across London, Nottingham, Newcastle, Sheffield and Lincoln. |
PKO Bank Polski | Panattoni | Wrocław Campus 2 | €74.5 | The loan will support the development of Wrocław Campus 2 – one of the developer’s largest investments in Lower Silesia. |
Ingenious | Southern Grove, Falco Group | 111-bed PBSA scheme | £36 (€43) | The facility has a 70% loan to value. |
Octopus Real Estate | Wavensmere Homes and Montane Partners | redevelopment project in South West England | £33 (€39.5) | The loan will fund the redevelopment of the North Place surface car park, to be known as Arkel Court. |
Bayern LB | Greystar | Canvas Living Hamburg | €34 | The loan finances the already completed asset with 234 residential unit. |
Funds on the market | |||
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Firm | Fund | Strategy | Details |
Fidelity International | Fidelity Real Estate Logistics Impact Climate Solutions Fund | Investing exclusively in the logistics sector in the main markets of Western Europe. | The fund has raised further €110m adding to the €200m raised during its first close in March 2024. |
Thriving Investments | New Avenue Living Greater Manchester Housing Fund | Providing rental homes for key workers. | The vehicle has secured an initial £40m of backing from the GMPF, GMCA, and Better Society Capital to build a 1,000-unit portfolio of affordable homes. |
The Fund is the first essential worker housing strategy in England. | |||
Realterm | Realterm Europe Logistics Fund II | Investing in industrial assets in Europe with a value-add strategy. | Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) has made a €75m commitment to Realterm Transportation’s Europe logistics fund. |
The vehicle is targeting a €400m fundraise with a €500m hard cap. | |||
Fund II has so far raised €374m. | |||
Valfondo IM | European logistics development fund | Investing in the development of BTS logistics assets in Western Europe. | The fund has raised an initial €160m with the potential to add another €140m in the future. |
The vehicle aims to build a €500m portfolio. |