Cromwell Property and Bain Capital intend to develop a €60m asset in Tuscany as part of a plan to invest opportunistically in the Italian logistics market.

Cromwell Property and Bain Capital Special Situations have acquired a 155,000sqm plot of land for the development of two-grade logistics warehouses in Lari in the greater Florence area, adding to their growing portfolio in Italy.

Cromwell Property has already received preliminary interest to lease more than three times the expected gross lettable area and expects to have most of the assets let by the start of construction in September 2023.

Lorenzo Caroleo, Cromwell’s head of Italy, said: “This acquisition not only highlights our commitment to the logistics sector in Italy, but also demonstrates our commitment to ESG and willingness to invest across the country in locations where the assets and local submarkets align with our investment strategy. So far, we’ve acquired assets in northern, southern and now central Italy.

“With construction due to start in September, these warehouses will be ready to accept tenants in 2024 and we are already in discussions with several potential occupiers, keen to take advantage of the modern, efficient and flexible warehouse space we are providing.”

“This is our second such acquisition in a few months, despite the macro uncertainty and challenging financing conditions, with more to come as we press ahead with our pipeline of opportunities and additional land plots to be developed in the near future.”

Late last year, Cromwell Property and Bain Capital teamed up to develop a 55,000sqm logistics warehouse in Bari in  the first in a series of planned developments by the two firms that are aiming to take advantage of the increasing shortage of supply of logistics assets in the Italian market.

Rafael Coste Campos, managing director at Bain Capital Special Situations, said: “We like to invest in hard-to-access real estate sectors, underpinned by enduring secular trends that drive long-term demand.

“By partnering with Cromwell, with its experienced on-the-ground Italian team and in-house development capabilities, we have identified a deep dislocation between the supply of modern logistics facilities and the demand from occupiers across the region. We look forward to working with them on this mandate.”

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