Blackstone has created a new pan-European logistics platform comprising around 500 properties and development projects.
The investment manager has launched Proxity, led by Guido Piñol as chief executive officer to oversee the 7m sqm portfolio owned by Blackstone real estate funds alongside Jonas Kriebel as CFO.
Piñol and Kriebel have been managing German real estate investment company Office First. The duo have experience leading real estate businesses across Europe, including over a decade working with Blackstone Real Estate.
Blackstone said Yvo Postleb, former country head Germany at Cushman & Wakefield, will also join Proxity’s senior management team and as chief operating officer.
Frankfurt-headquartered Proxity – expected to be fully operational by 2026 – will operate across key markets in continental Europe, the Nordics and Ireland, with plans to expand the portfolio in both existing and new markets as it scales further, Blackstone said.
Blackstone has been active in the European industrial real estate sector mainly through Logicor, Mileway and its UK industrial property company, Indurent. In December last year, the manager also acquired a logistics portfolio of 10 properties in central Europe from TPG Real Estate and Contera for €470m.
Additionally, a couple of months prior, Blackstone agreed to acquire an 80% stake in Burstone’s €1.1bn pan-European logistics platform.
James Seppala, head of real estate Europe at Blackstone, said: “Logistics is one of our highest conviction themes globally, with the sector continuing to benefit from highly favourable long-term fundamentals.
“The creation of Proxity is further testament to Blackstone’s conviction and our funds’ ability to deploy capital in fragmented markets to build a scalable logistics platform able to capitalise on growing and evolving customer demand.”
Piñol said: “As global e-commerce and supply chain trends continue to drive occupier demand, we are excited by the opportunity to establish a truly pan-European platform which provides tailored warehousing solutions to its customers.
“With Blackstone’s support, we are well placed to deploy capital and deliver growth, including through our ambitious development pipeline.”
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