Apollo-managed funds have provided a €113.5m loan to Valor Real Estate Partners and QuadReal Property’s European logistics investment partnership for a portfolio of French assets.
Valor said the three-year loan, with extension options, has been used to finance a 120,000sqm portfolio of seven urban logistics assets in Paris, Lyon and Marseille.
The financing marks the first transaction between the two parties.
Ben Eppley, partner and head of real estate lending in Europe at Apollo, said: ”We are pleased to enter into this new relationship with Valor and QuadReal, leading investors and operators in the urban logistics market, a sector that continues to have strong fundamentals in the targeted markets.
“This financing was an opportunity to lend based on a very well-capitalised transition business plan and supported by strong collaboration.”
Matthew Phillips, partner and CFO at Valor Real Estate Partners, said: “This commitment from Apollo, secured on competitive terms, is a testament to the continued appeal of urban logistics and the strong structural trends that are supporting demand for 3PLs and distribution in France’s fastest-growing metropolises.
“This funding will help us implement a number of retrofit programmes with ESG improvements to create sustainable and high-environmental logistics spaces in sub-markets where quality supply is highly constrained.”
Thomas Blangy, SVP of international real estate at QuadReal Property, said: “Through our partnership with Valor, we have invested in more than 375,000sqm of logistics assets strategically positioned in key European markets.
“This financing with Apollo allows us to further enhance our product offering, offering not only well-located assets, but also state-of-the-art facilities in terms of efficiency and environmental sustainability.”
In November 2020, European urban logistics investor Valor and QuadReal Property formed a joint venture to invest €1bn in urban logistics assets located in key UK, French and German cities.
At the time, the companies said QuadReal, the real estate arm of British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, would be the majority investor in the partnership, which had initial capital commitments of €440m.
With leverage, the value-add and develop-to-hold investment platform was expected to have more than €1bn of investable capital.
In January 2022, the pair launched a second value-add and development venture with a plan to invest an additional €3bn.
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