Azora, the Madrid-based European private equity real estate manager, has gained further capital backing for its last-mile logistics strategy in Spain from Indosuez Wealth Management, a subsidiary of French bank Crédit Agricole.
Indosuez clients are committing €50 mln of equity, which with debt will provide just over €100 mln of new capital for Azora's last-mile strategy.
The additional funds raise Azora’s total investment capacity to €250 mln after the firm recently launched a €150 mln joint venture with PGIM Real Estate targeting value-add and development opportunities in the Spanish last-mile sector.
Indosuez will channel its investment through MilePro Logística Última Milla (MilePro), a newly created vehicle focused on the acquisition of stabilised core-plus operational assets and the development of new assets and which will target net overall returns with an IRR of 8%+.
Azora’s last-mile strategy targets assets with strong sustainability credentials in the first-ring of Spain’s major cities, and with a specific focus on Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.
The firm says it has a ‘strong pipeline' of opportunities and recently acquired the first asset on behalf of MilePro, a cross-dock logistics asset in Villaverde, Madrid, for €10.7 mln.
Cristina Garcia-Peri, head of strategy and business development at Azora, commented: ‘We have a long-held conviction for high-quality last-mile logistics in Spain. Raising this additional capital gives us a significant opportunity to leverage our unique local knowledge and 17 years of asset management expertise to deploy €250 mln into the sector to the benefit of our clients.
‘Moreover, that this capital was raised during the global pandemic demonstrates investors’ continued confidence in both the long-term performance of the logistics sector, and in Azora’s ability to attract institutional capital and create scalable platforms.’
Antonio Losada, CEO of Indosuez Wealth Management in Spain, commented: ‘The unstoppable growth of e-commerce in Spain is a reality which is leading to a continued growth in the demand for new logistics formats. It’s a pleasure for Indosuez in Spain to collaborate in this project with Azora and to offer our clients the possibility of having direct exposure to an asset class with such an attractive risk-return profile.’
