The European logistics joint venture between the real estate arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Boreal IM marked its entry into Italy with a 200,000sqm portfolio purchase.

Cadillac Fairview & Boreal IM JV has invested an unspecified amount to acquire four assets and two development plots in the north of Italy from Blackstone-sponsored closed-end real estate funds managed by Kryalos SGR. 

The venture has acquired the fully-let 198,000sqm portfolio and two development plots in a transaction carried out in a newly established fund managed on behalf of the joint venture, also by Kryalos.

The acquired warehouses comprise two assets in Pioltello and an asset each in Villanterio, Pozzaglio and Monticelli. The development opportunities comprise land in Monticelli ready to be developed into a 55,000sqm warehouse and another in San Bellino with a 44,000sqm buildable area.

Last year, the joint venture – formed to create a €3bn pan-European logistics portfolio – invested €250m to acquire an industrial park in Park Royal in West London and another in the Port of Rotterdam as the first two acquisitions for the newly created partnership.

The expansion into Italy follows acquisitions by the joint venture also in France and Spain.

Nikos Koulouras, partner at Boreal IM, said: “We are extremely happy to have completed our first acquisition in Italy, especially as the portfolio is very well located, fully-let and offers development potential to capture growing demand for logistics space.

”This portfolio gives us immediate scale in Italy and demonstrates our commitment to finding and creating value through market insight and proactive asset management. Having established the Kryalos SGR JV in Italy, we now look forward to growing the portfolio further.”

Jenny Hammarlund, EVP of investments, Cadillac Fairview, said: “The JV has entered the Italian market with conviction, having carried out detailed diligence and we are confident about the potential of the northern Italian logistics market.

”We are now in five of our six target markets, giving us diversified exposure to outsized returns in the European logistics market. We are very pleased to be continuing to build the portfolio at speed, particularly in this more challenging market.”

Paolo Bottelli, founder and CEO of Kryalos SGR, said: “We are glad to include the Boreal-Cadillac Fairview JV among our investors and we look forward to working side by side to implement our joint strategy in the northern Italian logistics market, where we have been a market leader for years.

”Kryalos’ strategy is to acquire assets with a view to building improvements and increased energy efficiency in order to cater to the evolving demands of occupiers. This transaction proves the value of that approach, and we are committed to continuing to look for further opportunities to do this with the JV.”

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