Belgium-based warehouse developer VGP and Allianz Real Estate have launched a joint venture to invest €1.7 bn in logistics across Europe.
Named VGP European Logistics 2, the parties want the core fund to hit its investment target within five years. The vehicle will exclusively purchase buildings which VGP has developed in the countries of Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Spain.
The assets will all be new or recently built and will be fully leased to high profile tenants following strict investment criteria. Allianz has committed €350 mln in equity into the new joint venture at launch. It follows a 2016 arrangement between the two whereby developments by VGP were pooled into a fund into which Allianz invested.
Jan van Geet, CEO of VGP said: ‘We are delighted to further expand our partnership with Allianz Real Estate. Our group has grown significantly since the inception of the first joint venture in 2016 and the increased investment capacity as well as enlarged footprint of the combined two joint ventures fits really well with our expanded pan-European profile,' said. 'Through the combination of the two, we can continue to recycle our invested capital and re-invest the disposal proceeds in the development and expansion of our portfolio.’
Olivier Téran, Chief Information Officer of Allianz Real Estate, commented: ‘Logistics remains a highly attractive sector, in established markets such as the Netherlands, Spain and Italy but also fast-growth ones such as Romania, and Allianz is focused on selectively building its exposure globally by working with prime partners such as VGP,' said 'We are delighted to be once again working with VGP, an established leader in the European logistics sector and a firm with a proven track record of success and deep understanding of the dynamics shaping the market.’
The VGP European Logistics 2 vehicle follows VGP European Logistics, which launched in March 2016 and buys assets in Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. It currently has a gross asset value of around €1.4 bn.
Last year, logistics accounted for €5.6 bn of Allianz Real Estate’s total AUM last year. Earlier this year, Allianz penned deals with AEW for the UK logistics sector and with CBRE Global Investment Partners to acquire a Nordic portfolio.
