German investment manager HIH Invest Real Estate has acquired a logistics property development in Kronau near Karlsruhe from a project company of the Machmeier Group, (INWO) based in Sandhausen.
Financial details for the off-market deal were not disclosed.
The property, which occupies about 43,550 m2 of floor area is already pre-let in its entirety to Poco Einrichtungsmärkte and the V&V Dabelstein Group.
Slated for completion by the end of 2022, the new-build complex is designed for alternative use options and for multi-user occupancy, and will be certified under the DGNB Gold sustainability standard.
Lars Bothe, head of transaction management logistics at HIH Invest Real Estate, said: 'Investments in the logistics segment have continued to gain in appeal in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
'Stable growth forecasts point to e-commerce as sustainable driver for the domestic and international logistics industry, and to a growing demand for new logistics facilities. At the same time, customer requirements for goods deliveries keep increasing – especially with respect to delivery times. This will further raise the pressure to find space.'
The asset in Kronau is located directly next to the A5 motorway between Heidelberg and Mannheim, just north of Karlsruhe, the second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg.
The legal and fiscal due diligence process for the new-build complex purchased was handled by Ashurst LLP from Frankfurt. The technical and environmental due diligence (TEDD) was conducted by Arcadis Germany, a company based in Darmstadt.
