Global investment firm The Carlyle Group has acquired a portfolio of 27 distribution logistics assets in France and Germany in a sale-and-leaseback deal.
Financial details were not disclosed.
Industry sources suggest that the assets, which total 158,000 m2 of space focused on parcel-delivery, are leased to Kuehne + Nagel. The properties are located near major urban and trade areas across France (92,000 m2) and Germany (66,000 m2). In aggregate, the portfolio is currently more than 98% occupied.
Marc-Antoine Bouyer, managing director on the Carlyle Europe Realty advisory team, said: 'This acquisition exemplifies our strategy of targeting well located, high-quality assets in the distribution logistics sector which have seen rapidly growing delivery volumes accelerated by strong growth in e-commerce.
'We are delighted to grow our exposure to this fast-growing segment across France and Germany, two countries that are core to our investment strategy in Europe.'
Equity for the investment came from Carlyle Europe Realty (CER), a €540 mln pan-European real estate fund. Carlyle said that the acquisition increased the fund’s exposure to European logistics, an area of focus for the fund since 2016.
CER also buys assets across the residential, student accommodation, retail, hospitality and co-working niches.
