Savills Investment Management’s latest European logistics fund, which plans to raise €600m, has received capital commitments from two German institutional investors.
Savills IM said the newly launched European Logistics Fund 3 (ELF 3) has already received €122m from the two unnamed investors at first close.
The predecessor ELF 2 fund was closed to new investors at the beginning of 2019 after raising €560m, which was more than twice its target of €250m.
The manager said ELF 3 will focus on investments in high-quality distribution centres and cross-docks that can be used by third parties in Europe’s core liquid logistics markets.
The fund, which has a target investment volume of at least €600m and a maximum debt ratio of 50%, aims to deliver an annual income of at least 5% through a core/core-plus strategy.
Daniel Hohenthanner, director of Investment at Savills IM, said the fundamentals in Europe’s logistics sector remain buoyant. e-commerce is currently forecast to grow by €220bn by 2022.
This is reflected in continued strong demand for logistics properties and a very low vacancy rate leading to rising rents, he said.
“We have specialist teams in local markets, giving them rapid access to properties coming onto the market as well as off-market transactions.
”Through ELF 2 we have proven our expertise in deal-sourcing and bringing transactions to a successful conclusion quickly. As a result, a property pipeline for ELF 3 is already built.”
Rena Knöpke, head of business development for Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Savills IM, said: “The overwhelming response by investors to ELF 2 has helped to make it one of Savills IM’s flagship funds. The strategy has convinced investors.
“Due to continuing high demand, we are pleased to offer another pan-European logistics strategy for institutional investors.”
