Global real estate investment manager AEW has raised an additional €500 mln of equity for Logistis, its specialist pan-European logistics strategy, bringing the fund’s total net equity to over €2.7 bn.
According to AEW, this additional equity will allow the Logistis platform to grow to around €5.4 bn of assets under management, through speculative developments, standing assets and build-to-suit projects in locations where occupier demand is strong.
The fund establishes large-scale partnerships with independent developers, supporting their pipeline of projects from an early stage in order to enhance sourcing and asset selection.
Rob Wilkinson, CEO Europe at AEW, commented: 'This is another phenomenal achievement for Logistis, one of the longest standing investment vehicles in the logistics sector, as we continue to grow the platform in response to both investor appetite and strong occupational demand.
'Our build-to-core strategy is underpinned by the structural tailwinds which are supporting the growth of the logistics market and have been accelerated by the pandemic.
'More of us are shopping online than ever before and businesses are reconfiguring supply chains in response to changing consumer habits. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our investors for their continued support.'
Ludovic Bernini, fund manager of Logistis, added: 'The fund’s 20-year track record of delivery has created trust amongst our partners, and as a result we continue to work with a number of high quality developers to bring forward state-of-the-art schemes across Europe.
'This has involved an increasing focus on ESG, in which area Logistis has excelled, demonstrated by the recent five star green rating the fund received from GRESB.'
Since the platform was launched in 1999, Logistis has built a 3.3 million m2 portfolio that comprises 110 logistics assets over 49 sites across Europe with a total value of approximately €3.4 bn and an ongoing development pipeline of around €1 bn. The portfolio has 95% stabilised occupancy and an average annual distribution yield of around 5%.
