Barings has added more than 100,000sqm of logistics development opportunities to its portfolio in Italy through a local real estate fund managed by Savills IM SGR.

The manager said it has in two separate deals, acquired value-add logistics development sites on behalf of the Barings Real Estate European Value Add (BREEVA) I and II funds.

Barings has invested undisclosed sums to buy development sites in Caorso in the Province of Piacenza in northern Italy for the €300m BREEVA I fund and in Serravalle Scrivia in the Italian region of Piedmont on behalf of the €850m BREEVA II fund.

Two new warehouses at the Caorso site are due for delivery in the first half of 2024 and the Serravalle Scrivia logistics warehouse is due for delivery by the close of 2023.

Marco Corti, managing director and head of Italian Real Estate at Barings, said: “Both sites represented unique opportunities to bring forward new high-quality logistics space into two key logistics submarkets in northern Italy, both of which are characterised by strong tenant demand and very limited supply.

“With a record level of take-up by occupiers in 2022, the logistics sector in Italy continues to appeal to investors.”

Valeria Falcone, the head of European value-add investing at Barings, said: “The acquisition of these two sites is a strong endorsement of not only our strong local network, which allows us to identify compelling opportunities in popular sectors and execute them off market, but also our strong value-add experience and capabilities, particularly in the delivery of sustainable assets that align with the ESG priorities of both Barings and our clients.

“Logistic remains one of our preferred asset classes in both Italy and Europe, particularly in locations where we see space for rental growth supported by a lack of modern logistics stock to satisfy both existing and future demand.”

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