CBRE GIP acquires €240m of French logistics from Apollo

CBRE Global Investment Partners (CBRE GIP) has joined forces with London-based real estate investor Arax Properties to acquire a portfolio of logistics assets in France for €240 mln.

The vendor was a fund managed by Apollo.

The 439,835 m2 Nautilus Portfolio comprises 12 distribution centres located primarily in the main French logistics corridor running between Lille and Marseille. Asset sizes range between 20,000 m2 to 70,000 m2 and the portfolio is 98% let to five tenants.

Arax was retained as the local operating partner.

'We believe the weight of capital in the European real estate market chasing logistics assets will drive further yield compression making this a particularly attractive sector to invest in,' said Jeremy Plummer, CEO of CBRE GIP.

He added: 'The Nautilus portfolio has strong property fundamentals – high occupancy rates, a lack of supply where these assets are located and knowing that one of our major tenants considers these sites as part of their long term business plan. We expect the portfolio to deliver a strong income return for our investors.'

The deal comes follows CBRE GIP's purchase last month of a €350 mln European logistics portfolio, comprising seven assets across France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. The 600,000 m2 portfolio was bought from existing clients of TH Real Estate, which will continue to manage the portfolio on behalf of GIP while also seeking further acquisitions.