AXA Real Estate launches new logistics development platform

AXA Real Estate has launched a new pan-European logistics and industrial development platform with €100 mln of commitments.

The platform, Baytree Logistics Properties, will operate alongside AXA Real Estate’s existing €1.8 bn European logistics platform which manages over 2.5 million m2 of assets.

Together with AXA Real Estate’s existing investor clients, Baytree will develop build-to-suit and speculative logistics buildings in prime locations across Europe.

AXA RE said it aims to build Baytree into one of Europe’s leading developers of industrial and logistics real estate. John Duggan will lead the new company as non-executive chairman, heading a team that includes Jonathan Priestley and Jonathan Fenton-Jones. Rabih Modad takes up the role of managing director with immediate effect.

Commenting on the new platform, Duggan said Baytree is ‘well positioned’ to capitalise on the estimated €7 bn of new equity from institutional investors targeting the logistics sector. ‘This, combined with the demand-supply imbalance in Europe, presents a clear market opportunity for an expert logistics developer with strong capital backing,’ he noted.

‘We believe the market opportunity in logistics and industrial development remains extremely compelling as a result of the undersupply of prime industrial stock in Europe coupled with demand for assets continuing to be bolstered by e-commerce and evolving trends in the supply chain. Additionally, in recent years speculative development has been non-existent due to the lack of financing. This creates an opportunity for an occupier driven development team with a flexible approach to structuring transactions,’ Duggan said.

Pierre Vaquier, CEO of AXA Real Estate, commented: ‘The trend of well-capitalised institutional investors seeking access to medium-risk, regular income-producing assets such as those in the logistics sector remains strong. In direct response to this demand, and coupled with the long-term supply demand imbalance of good-quality logistics product we forecast, we have launched Baytree. It will allow us to develop new product and bring this into an undersupplied market whilst providing our clients with access to the attractive investment dynamics of these assets, supported by a team with an outstanding long-term track record in this field.’

Top Investors
AXA Real Estate takes 5th place in our Top Investors ranking of dealmakers for 2014 with €7.1 bn of European real estate transactions. Check out the Top Investors app for the ranking and background information on the top European dealmakers of 2014.

AXA Real Estate also features in the dealmaker section of the March 2015 edition of PropertyEU's Top 100 Investors, Dealmakers & Investment Locations publication.