Savills Investment Management and Vestas Investment Management have set up the first ‘blind-pool’ European logistics fund for Korean institutional as part of an ongoing collaboration.
The Vestas European Strategic Allocation Logistics Fund (VESALF I) will have €500m to deploy, having raised €200m of equity and the capacity to use up to 60% gearing plus manager co-investment.
London-headquartered Savills IM and Seoul-based Vestas have been deploying Korean institutional capital into European real estate markets through various club deals in recent years.
The pair have made at least two acquisitions this year, acquiring a 123,000sqm logistics property in Poland and the global headquarters and logistics facility of Danish transport firm DSV. The latter will be used to seed the new fund.
Two years ago, Savills IM announced its intention to launch a “discretionary fund for Korean Institutional Investors to acquire European logistics and office properties”.
Today, Jon Crossfield, head of strategic partnerships at Savills IM, said: “Having advised and worked closely with Vestas for several years, we are delighted that the relationship has now led to us jointly establishing the first blind logistics fund for Korean institutions.
“It is a key milestone for both of our firms, and a clear sign of how the Korean market is maturing. Institutions are increasingly willing to back partners they trust, to better access stock in competitive markets and to achieve greater portfolio diversification.”
Savills IM will be the European fund and asset manager in partnership with Vestas, which has raised the capital. Both parties were advised by law firm Ashurst in setting up the vehicle.
The fund will target core/core-plus assets of between €40m and €140m across all “key European markets”.
Salvatore Lee, managing director at Vestas Investment Management, said: “We are very pleased to set up this blind logistics fund with our key partner Savills IM and to be able to bring a valuable new product to our proactive Korean investors in such a dynamic and competitive logistics market.
“This is a big step for Vestas and builds on our five-year history of overseas investments. We are very grateful to the Savills IM team who have supported and are now partnered with us. We are excited to continue deploying the capital on behalf of VESALF I over the next two years.”
