Australia-based HMC Capital’s Last Mile Logistics Fund (LML) has reached its first close with A$800m (€491m) of investment capacity following A$400m of equity commitments from a major institutional investor and a sister fund, HMC Daily Needs (HDN) REIT.

The unnamed local institution has committed A$350m to the manager’s last-mile logistics strategy, while HDN chipped in A$50m. And with debt, the platform has purchasing power of A$800m.

The LML Fund series will target traditional retail properties which can be repositioned to provide last-mile omni-channel solutions for Australia’s leading daily needs retailers.

The fund has been seeded with a neighbourhood centre, Menai Marketplace, in Sydney’s West, purchased early this year, and now independently valued at A$175m.

HMC head of funds management, Nicholas Harris, said: “We are delighted to reach first close and welcome a major new strategic capital partner for the first last mile logistics unlisted fund.

“This is a high conviction strategy which we believe is unique, leverages our track record in this sector, and can be significantly grown in the future through further LML fund series.”

The LML Fund represents the first of a series of funds which can scale into a multi-billion-dollar strategy over time.

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