ICG Real Estate has acquired over half a billion euros worth of assets for a new European industrial real estate platform expected to triple in size in the short term as it acquires repriced and special situation assets.

The real estate manager said the newly formed Metropolitan Last Mile platform has received “strong backing from leading global institutional investors”.

Metropolitan Last Mile focuses on major urban population centres across the UK, France, and Germany. Over the past nine months it has acquired 35 fully-let assets located in the three countries.

ICG Real Estate said the €500m portfolio – bought in eight separate deals – has been acquired in a repriced market environment through off-market and special situations. Metropolitan Last Mile’s plan is to expand to over €1.5bn within the next 18 months, the manager said.

Krysto Nikolic, global head of ICG Real Estate, said: “We are delighted to announce the formation of Metropolitan Last Mile which will continue to acquire high-quality distribution and industrial assets in some of the strongest, undersupplied European markets. In the past six months, we have taken advantage of the significant dislocation and repricing in European logistics markets to assemble the existing portfolio, under the radar and at very attractive prices.

”As markets continue to be unstable, we anticipate that our ’special situations’ approach to the sector will allow us to access value in an asset class that continues to have very robust demand and supply fundamentals.”

Adam Golebiowski, managing director, co-portfolio manager of ICG Real Estate, said: “We are happy to have received the backing of some of the leading global investors to create Metropolitan Last Mile.

”Our pipeline is highly promising, particularly in the current repriced environment, presenting excellent investment opportunities.”

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