German investment manager Deka Immobilien has entered into a joint venture with Antwerp-based VGP after securing a 50% stake in a logistics portfolio in Germany with a total value of around €1.12 bn from the Belgian firm.
Deka Immobilien's share amounts to around €560 mln. The package consists of fully let existing properties built from 2021 onwards and project developments due for completion by 2024 and is spread across five locations in Germany.
Deka and VGP announced intentions to form a joint venture to manage the holdings in five property companies.
The properties in Berlin, Laatzen and Magdeburg have been acquired for open-ended real estate fund Deka-ImmobilienEuropa. The properties in Göttingen and Gießen are to be added to the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund WestInvest InterSelect.
'With the largest transaction to date in the European logistics market in 2023, we are investing in a first-class portfolio in five established locations. All properties have very good construction quality, meet our high ESG criteria and have been recently completed or will be handed over to tenants in the next twelve months,' said Victor Stoltenburg, managing director of Deka Immobilien.
Jan Van Geet, CEO of VGP, said: 'With Deka, one of the leading European real estate investors, we have found a partner with a shared vision, focusing on creating sustainable value.
'Our joint venture marks an important milestone in our strategy to further diversify our cash recycling model and it speaks for the quality of our platform that we have been able to come to this partnership notwithstanding the adverse investment market conditions.
'We will share further details with our H1 update, but we are well on track to deliver on our targets for 2023 and beyond.'
The logistics halls in Berlin have an area of around 69,000 m2. These are let to ten users, with the Rieck Logistics Group and Amazon occupying the largest areas. The properties in Laatzen comprise approximately 127,000 m2 of lettable space, which are shared by four companies.
The buildings in Magdeburg are occupied by ten companies. The international logistics service provider Rhenus uses the majority of the space.
In Göttingen, the lettable space comprises 86,000 m2. The two buildings are let to three companies, with MediaMarktSaturn being the main user. The three buildings in Gießen with more than 210,000 m2 of space are let to four occupiers. The main user is Zalando.
All properties have been certified or are striving for certification with the DGNB Silver or Gold seal of quality for sustainable construction. The hall in Göttingen has been awarded the British BREEAM 'Very Good' seal of approval for sustainable construction.
Deka said that the fund management of Deka-ImmobilienEuropa and WestInvest InterSelect would further expand diversification in the logistics sector with this deal and increase earnings stability in the two open-ended real estate funds.
The transaction is still subject to approval by the authorities. JLL advised the seller.
