Fiera Real Estate UK, a subsidiary of global investment manager Fiera Capital Corporation with over $124 bn in AUM, has announced the second close of its Logistics Development Fund taking the total amount of equity committed by investors to over £225 mln (€260 mln).
Investors in the Fund are a mixture of LGPS and pension funds from the US, Europe and Asia together with proprietary co-investment. The raise brings Fiera’s total value-add track record to over £1 bn in capital commitments across a range of real estate asset classes.
Fiera launched the Fund in July 2022 to take advantage of 'the unprecedented occupier and investor demand for logistics real estate' and can leverage up to 35% taking the portfolio capacity to £350 mln across the two-year investment window.
The current portfolio of five assets will provide 400,000 ft2 of ESG exemplar, Grade A logistics floorspace across 18 units when construction is complete. The Fund has a pipeline of five more sites under offer and is seeking additional opportunities.
The Fund’s investment requirements are for development sites of over two acres with capability for small-to-mid box logistics developments of up to 250,000 ft2, in locations well served by transport links and within 45 minutes of a one million catchment population.
80% of assets in the current portfolio are targeting Net Zero Carbon Construction and BREEAM Outstanding.
Chris Button, Fund manager and head of Investment Management, commented, 'The recent volatility in the market has created good buying opportunities for funders like us that are well capitalised, can take planning and construction risk and can transact quickly. We have increased our focus on the logistics sector over the last three years, developing over 9million ft2 of logistics assets alongside our operating partner network of nine property companies. This development expertise offers significant de-risking and value creating qualities for our investors, while our strategic focus on Grade A development from the ground-up means we can attract best-in-class tenants at rental levels reflecting that. We intend to leverage this experience and we remain very active whilst others are sitting on the side lines.'
Charles Allen, head of European Real Estate, commented, 'Despite the capital-constrained market, we are still able to raise high volumes of capital and I am excited to harness the opportunities that the second close will allow us to capitalise on. Our strong track record of creating space that meets the evolving needs of our occupational customers will in turn create value for our investors.'
