Europa Capital’s value-add fund has launched a new €150m Central European logistics platform with the acquisition of an asset in Hungary’s capital.

The pan-European real estate investment manager’s Europa Fund VI fund has partnered with White Star Real Estate to launch the Central European Logistics Platform.

The platform, which plans to have a €150m in gross asset value, has bought a 15-hectare site in Budapest to develop the Park22 urban logistics park.

Europa said the platform will target ”standing logistics and urban warehousing assets and ground-up development opportunities in strong locations”, which interconnect Europe’s largest cities in the region including Budapest, Vienna and Bratislava.

Jason Oram, partner and fund manager at Europa Capital, said: “Our decision to launch a Central European logistics platform and fund the development of Park22 reflects our view that a continuation of urbanisation trends will fuel ongoing demand for logistics space across Central Europe.

“We continue to see strong levels of occupier interest across our pan-European speculative development pipeline and look forward to partnering again with White Star Real Estate, with whom we worked on the development of the Małachowski Square office building in Warsaw, Poland, which we sold successfully in 2018 on behalf of our investors.”

Robert Martin, partner and head of investments at Europa Capital, said: “Park22 presents an opportunity to invest in a high-quality project which offers amenities as well as strong transport links.”

Martin said Budapest is experiencing a shortage of logistics supply, with a vacancy rate of below 4%, and Europa Capital believes Park22 will prove an attractive location for both third-party logistics players and e-commerce businesses.

“We have been active in the CEE region for a number of years, recently re-entering the Hungarian market with the acquisition of the Akadémia Business Center in Budapest earlier this year.”

The latest investment increases Europa Capital’s logistics development pipeline to 526,300sqm across countries including the UK, France, Germany, Hungary and Poland.

Krisztián Barabás, partner of development and operations at White Star Real Estate, said White Star has been an active player in the Hungarian and Central and Eastern European real estate development and management market for decades.

“We always take into account the latest industry trends and current tenant expectations across our investments and developments and offer real, market-focused solutions.

“In the case of Park22, we have responded to the accelerated growth of online commerce by combining warehousing with office functions in a practical way, all within the boundaries of the capital, with direct motorway access,” Barabás said.

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