Barings has sold a logistics asset in France on behalf of an unnamed US insurer and a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund to a Fidelity International-managed fund.
The asset in Saint-Ouen l’Aumône, a suburb to the northwest of Paris, was sold to Fidelity International’s Eurozone Select Real Estate Fund for an undisclosed amount.
Barings said the transaction is the second disposal in France on behalf of PELV, the core-plus and value-add pan-European logistics fund launched in 2019 with backing from US and Middle Eastern investors. In October last year, Barings completed the sale of a logistics development in France to grocery retailer Lidl on behalf of PELV.
Barings acquired the asset in Saint-Ouen l’Aumône in December 2020 with a plan to redevelop the existing building into a 23,760sqm logistics platform. By mid-2022, the property, which features a net lettable area of 23,760sqm of logistics space, was fully let to four tenants.
Guillaume Bieganski, managing director and head of French real estate at Barings, said: “Having carried out our strategic asset management initiatives to redevelop this asset into a Grade A space, we are disposing of the building in line with our business plan.
”The logistics market in France remains an attractive one for Barings given the fundamentals of the sector, and we’re continuing to explore opportunities in logistics as well as our other preferred sectors of residential and prime offices in city centre locations.”
Robert Schneider, managing director and PELV portfolio manager at Barings said: “This latest disposal on behalf of PELV demonstrates the strength of our asset management proposition amid a challenging economic market. With Barings’ approach of combining on-the-ground expertise with global insights, we’re well placed to continue seeking attractive returns for our investors.
”PELV remains active in our preferred jurisdictions, which include France, Italy, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and the Nordics, although we will be uncompromising on price, location and quality of assets as we seek to deploy our investors’ capital in spaces that we believe offer strong potential.”
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