CBRE Investment Management’s indirect private real estate arm has made a €150m commitment to Verdion’s latest value-add European logistics real estate fund.

The latest fundraising for Verdion European Logistics Fund (VELF) 2 follows an initial closing of €75m exclusively sourced by Verdion from investors in the inaugural 2020 vintage of its flagship VELF fund series, the fund manager said.

VELF 2’s strategy involves acquiring and improving underutilised logistics properties in strategic locations across Northern Europe. The fund’s initial investment is in a €33.5m distribution centre in Horsens in Denmark, which is pre-leased to Danish women’s clothing brand Zizzi.

As previously reported, VELF2 is seeking to raise €400m for the value-add strategy that will reposition existing assets into “future-proofed core properties” in established Northern European logistics locations. The fund expects to have a total investment capacity of over €800m when combined with leverage.

Verdion’s first fund VELF1 raised €158m at its final close in 2020. The fund, which is fully invested, together with debt, has deployed €310m to acquire 11 logistics assets across Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and the Czech Republic.

Verdion said a facility for UPS next to Prague Airport has been sold, and two assets in Germany and the Netherlands are being marketed for sale with business plans now complete.

Simon Walter, executive director of investment management at Verdion, said: “This is a significant step forward for the fund signalling continued confidence in our approach amidst challenging capital-raising conditions.

“We are now set to transact on a substantial pipeline of attractive acquisitions and leverage Verdion’s deep sector expertise, focus on technical innovation and vertically integrated team to deliver further high quality logistics assets with excellent ESG credentials.”

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