AEW has been backed by Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) and Migdal Insurance to the tune of €150 mln for a Spanish logistics venture.
AEW is calling the vehicle Relog which it aims to build into a large-scale Spanish logistics platform focused on last-mile distribution.
Juan-Carlos Ortega of local operating partner, Vega Partners, said: ‘It is a great honor and at the same time a great responsibility to be backed by institutional international investors of such standing as AEW, TRS and Migdal. We believe that with their support, we will be able to build a unique logistic platform in Spain. Spain’s fantastic momentum with the potential we see in the logistics sector led us to think that it will be the first of many other real estate strategies.’
The partners behind Relog say the initial €150 mln in equity provides the platform with €400 mln of acquisition firepower to target infill and last-mile assets that accommodate the ‘growing demand from retailers and third-party logistics providers for well-located space close to urban populations’ following a fundamental shift in consumer habits.
A debut investment has been made. That is of a 9,200 m2 asset fully let to Amazon in Alcala de Guadaira, 10km from Seville city centre. The asset is strategically located in a consolidated logistics zone and a strategic last-mile location near the SE-40 and A-92 highways. The asset has been fully refurbished by Amazon, which has been in occupation since 2020, and includes a land plot of over 25,000 m2 presenting an opportunity to develop a further 10,000 m2 of logistics space in the future.
The partnership will invest in both income-producing assets and portfolios, as well as properties with value-add potential and new developments around Spain’s major cities, including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. Investments in smaller but strategically important locations, such as Zaragoza, Seville, Malaga, Bilbao and the Basque Country will also be considered.
Nikos Koulouras, head of investments for private equity funds at AEW, said: ‘Beyond Madrid and Barcelona, we are seeing increased occupier and investor interest in markets such as Valencia, Seville, Malaga and the Basque Country.'
'With the expectation that occupiers will need further space close to major conurbations and last-mile destinations, our ambition is to scale Relog as quickly as possible to meet this demand whilst generating sustainable returns for our investors. The acquisition we have made in Seville is the first step towards achieving that goal and we are already progressing a strong pipeline of further opportunities.’
