AEW has raised an additional €500m for its European logistics strategy, lifting the Logistis fund’s total equity to €2.7bn.

The global real estate investment manager said the new equity – which has been raised entirely from existing investors – will allow Logistis to grow to manage around €5.4bn of logistics assets in continental Europe. The fund targets speculative developments, standing assets and build-to-suit projects opportunities.

Logistis, launched in 1999, has so far built a 3.3m sqm portfolio comprising 110 logistics assets over 49 sites across Europe worth €3.4bn and an ongoing development pipeline of around €1bn, the manager said.

Rob Wilkinson, CEO Europe at AEW, said: “This is another phenomenal achievement for Logistis, one of the longest-standing investment vehicles in the logistics sector, as we continue to grow the platform in response to both investor appetite and strong occupational demand.

“Our build-to-core strategy is underpinned by the structural tailwinds which are supporting the growth of the logistics market and have been accelerated by the pandemic. More of us are shopping online than ever before and businesses are reconfiguring supply chains in response to changing consumer habits.”

Ludovic Bernini, fund manager of Logistis, said: “The fund’s 20-year track record of delivery has created trust amongst our partners, and as a result we continue to work with a number of high-quality developers to bring forward state-of-the-art schemes across Europe.

“This has involved an increasing focus on ESG, in which area Logistis has excelled, demonstrated by the recent five star green rating the Fund received from GRESB.”

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