A value-add fund managed by CBRE Global Investors has partnered with French group Virtuo Industrial Property to build a €1bn logistics portfolio in France.
The CBRE Europe Value Partners 2 (EVP2) and Virtuo joint venture has been seeded with a portfolio of five sites totalling 163,000sqm of buildable area. Construction on the site is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2019.
The joint venture is also pursuing further opportunities in prime locations in France through the acquisition of land as well as standing assets in need of repositioning, with a view to building a €1bn prime logistics portfolio.
Charles Baigler, the fund manager for CBRE Global Investors’ Europe value partners series, said: “We have established this joint venture with a partner who are specialist in French logistics. This transaction is in line with our European value add strategy of creating core assets in supply constrained markets.
“The logistics sector is a key focus for the fund series and we are keen to deploy additional capital into the sector across Europe.”
Gregory Blouin, founder and CEO of Virtuo, said: “The demand for state-of-the-art logistic buildings in prime markets is growing despite land constraint in some location.
“Our development expertise with our sense of innovation combined with EVP2 capital will allow us to develop a portfolio of prime assets.”
