France’s La Poste Group has earmarked €500 mln to set up the first urban logistics investment fund, via its property unit La Poste Immobilier and in partnership with Banque des Territoires.
Each of the partners will hold 40% of the fund, while the remaining 20% will go to an investor that is in the selection process.
The goal is to equip France's 22 major cities and towns with dedicated real estate infrastructures.
Nearly 50 new sites will be developed by 2026, representing nearly 300,000 m2 of additional space.
The Vendenheim logistics platform in the Strasbourg Eurometropolis will be one of the first projects financed by this fund.
La Poste Group also said it would invest €200 mln to boost its urban logistics footprint, namely for the renovation and refurbishment of existing real estate assets or for new acquisitions.
These investments concern all formats of logistics sites, including urban logistics hotels (larger than 5,000 m2) such as in Lyon and Lezennes; urban distribution centres (500 to 5,000 m2) as in Nanterre; and urban logistic spaces (less than 500 m2) such as in Paris and Mérignac.
The establishments will be operational within the next 3 years.
La Poste Group already has 100 urban logistics sites in operation, including 170,000 m2 of postal property, which have required €300 mln of investment in recent years.
