The UK investment arm of Fiera Real Estate has launched a logistics development fund and raised an initial £170m (€197.4m) for the vehicle.

Fiera Real Estate UK (FRE UK) said the Fiera Real Estate Logistics Development Fund UK (FRELD) expects to raise £300m and is the firm’s first logistics sector-focussed development vehicle which will take “advantage of the unprecedented occupier and investor demand” for logistics real estate.

FRELD will have a maximum five-year duration with a two-year investment window, as well as a strong focus on ESG with all projects targeting net-zero carbon construction, said FRE UK.

FRE UK said it launched FRELD to take advantage of the “record transitional buying opportunities” created by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. The fund will develop new units of up to 300,000sqft located in major metropolitan areas and supported by prime transport infrastructure.

FRE UK has undertaken the development of similar assets in its series of UK opportunity funds which has raised over £780m since 2003.

“Levels of occupier and investor interest for last-mile logistics real estate continues unabated and our new logistics fund is well-positioned to take advantage of the demand that we are seeing, said Chris Button, portfolio manager of FRELD.

“Our strong track record of creating space that meets the evolving needs of our occupational customers will in turn create value for our investors.”

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