AEW has invested €91m to buy five light industrial developments in France and Germany.
The €71.2bn global real estate manager said it has completed the acquisition of five light industrial developments in France and Germany, in separate transactions.
“These build-to-core investments extend and complement AEW’s existing €4bn pan-European industrial and logistics portfolio,” the manager said.
Upon completion, developments will comprise 55,000 sqm in key locations in the immediate vicinities of Berlin, Stuttgart and Paris.
AEW said Four of the schemes are set for completion in 2020, with the final development due by the end of 2021.
Rémy Vertupier, co-head of institutional fund management, separate accounts and club deals at AEW, said these developments will provide much needed capacity in areas where high quality stock and land for new development are both in limited supply.
“We believe the urban light industrial asset class will prove resilient against the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and, in fact, may benefit from the potential re-shoring of activity as global supply chains become more regionalised.
“Furthermore, we expect that the structural trends driving the sector will be accelerated by the crisis, with e-commerce penetrating the habits of European consumers faster in the current social-distancing context.”
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