Valor Real Estate Partners has acquired a 24,079sqm urban logistics property in North Amsterdam from Aldi.
The purchase price is believed to be in the region of €21m, according to industry sources.
The single tenant property is leased to online grocery e-commerce retailer Picnic, with two years remaining.
On expiry, Valor intends to undertake an extensive refurbishment of the property to create three individual units, replacing the roof, upgrading the dock doors and improving the overall aesthetics of the asset.
The move marks Valor’s debut transaction in one of Europe’s most dominant logistics markets, and where Valor has ambitions to significantly and rapidly scale.
According to data provider Statista, the Netherlands is Europe’s seventh largest ecommerce market with over 3% of its GDP derived from online shopping. The Amsterdam metropolitan area is forecast to remain undersupplied with critical last-mile logistics space, with 500ha of industrial land expected to be reallocated for residential use by 2030.
Meanwhile, the population is forecast to increase 16% by 2035, and 32% by 2050, driving consumer demand.
Valor’s value-add strategy in the Netherlands will seek to capitalise on these structural drivers, with a geographical focus on the dominant Randstad region, as well as Tilburg and Eindhoven, the manager said.
Cane Napolitano, managing partner and CIO of Valor, said: “The Dutch markets are witnessing a remarkable transformation in its industrial real estate sector, largely fuelled by an impressive surge in e-commerce, which currently stands at 20% nationwide with projections set to climb to close to 30% in the Randstad area by 2027. With its young, well-educated, and diverse population, the country is poised for long-term growth.
”This demographic advantage, coupled with consumer spending that is 33% above the average European city and income levels 41% higher than the European average, underscores the region’s vast potential. The Netherlands is an integral component to realising our AUM growth ambitions, backed by a large appetite to do more in the Randstad and A58 regions.”
Matthew Ganas, Valor’s vice president of investments, added: “This was a unique opportunity to acquire a freehold product in one of Europe’s most densely populated major cities, where 90% of the industrial space inside the A10 will be converted to residential, resulting in an overall loss of 15% in stock over the next 25 years.
”Despite the current economic slowdown, this cannibalisation of supply, combined with the continued reconfiguration of supply chains, is underpinning very low vacancy rates across the Netherlands, with the high single digit rental growth witnessed in 2023 forecast to continue in the near term.”
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