Global investment and asset management platform AEW has acquired five light industrial developments in France and Germany, in separate transactions, for a total of €91 mln.
AEW said that the build-to-core investments complemented AEW’s existing €4 bn pan-European industrial and logistics portfolio.
Rémy Vertupier, co-head of institutional fund management, separate accounts & club deals at AEW, said: 'Urbanisation, new consumption patterns and pressure on city road networks are collectively driving increased demand for urban light industrial space. These developments will provide much-needed capacity in areas where high quality stock and land for new development are both in limited supply.'
Upon completion, the Breeam-certified developments will comprise 55,000 m2 of space in the immediate vicinities of Berlin, Stuttgart and Paris. Four of the schemes are set for completion in 2020, with the final development due by the end of 2021.
'We believe the urban light industrial asset class will prove resilient against the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and, in fact, may benefit from the potential re-shoring of activity as global supply chains become more regionalised,' Vertupier added. 'Furthermore, we expect that the structural trends driving the sector will be accelerated by the crisis, with e-commerce penetrating the habits of European consumers faster in the current social-distancing context.'
AEW has a 20-year track record in the warehouse market spanning France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy and Spain.
