P3, a pan-European logistics property investor-developer acquired last year by Singapore's GIC, has executed the latest phase of its expansion programme with the acquisition of a Spanish portfolio for €243 mln.
The portfolio was sold by Gore Spain Holdings. This is a Socimi, or Spanish real estate investment trust, owned by a subsidiary of GreenOak Real Estate, the global investment manager founded by former Morgan Stanley real estate executives John Carrafiell, Sony Kalsi and Fred Schmidt.
The 11 logistics and distribution warehouses comprise 322,500 m2 of leasable space, and are located in key logistics hotspots around Madrid, Zaragoza, Toledo and Guadalajara as well as the coastal cities of Valencia in the east and Biscay (near Bilbao) in the north.
The purchase takes P3's asset base in Spain from just over 70,000 m2 to nearly 400,000 m2 and is one of the biggest portfolio transactions in Spain in recent years, according to P3.
Reinforcing Spanish footprint
Commenting on the deal, David Marquina, P3's managing director in Spain, said: 'This is a good opportunity to reinforce our footprint in Spain's central logistics corridor, which connects Madrid, Zaragoza and Barcelona. Our next target is to increase our presence in the Mediterranean corridor, around Barcelona and Valencia and expand to Málaga. We will be focusing on acquiring institutional-quality logistics assets and off-market deals, where P3’s long-term investor-developer approach can make a real difference.
'There are several build-to-suit projects and single asset acquisitions in the pipeline which will allow us to grow to 500,000 m2 of high-quality, well-located logistics space under management in Spain before year end.'
The properties range in size from just over 7,500 m2 in the Getafe area of Madrid to over 80,000 m2 in Zaragoza. They are all fully let to domestic and international companies including DHL, which is also a P3 customer on seven other parks in four countries, Orangina Schweppes Espana and office products etailer Staples.
In addition to the built assets, two of the warehouses have adjacent land totalling over 26,000 m2, with potential for P3 to develop.
P3 was advised on the purchase by CBRE, legal consulting was provided by Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF).
2016 performance
In January P3 announced a 'record performance' in terms of new construction, leasing, vacancy rates and development pipeline during 2016. Last year P3 completed 15 warehouses in Europe totaling 320,000 m2 – nearly trebling its 2015 development total. Plus, it has more than 500,000 m2 of development in the pipeline, split roughly 50/50 between CEE and Western Europe. Some 124,000 m2 is already under construction, in eight buildings in five parks in four countries.
As a result of its development and investment activity in 2016, P3's pan European portfolio has grown from 146 buildings to 165 – a total of 3.5 million m2, or 173 when buildings under construction are included.
The logistics specialist is seeking to expand and solidify its European coverage after it was taken over last November when Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC paid €2.2 bn to former owners TPG Real Estate and Ivanhoé Cambridge to acquire the Prague-based company.
