One of Principal Real Estate’s high conviction strategies is progressing with the first acquisition and fundraising reaching a milestone.
The US company told PropertyEU in June how it was putting industrial and alternatives in its focus as ‘resilient asset classes’. Data centres was one of the specialist categories highlighted.
Now, the company has revealed its maiden acquisition for a dedicated data centre fund.
Principal has acquired a 6MVA 10,502 m2 asset in Barcelona leased to AtlasEdge until August 2033. The asset was acquired for €22.6 mln. The vendors were represented by Savills.
PropertyEU was the first to reveal how the company was launching a dedicated data centre fund. It has now reached €205 mln of equity at second close, having added another €50 mln since first close on €155 mln in February this year.
Paul Lewis, director of European data centres, said: ‘With the launch of the European Data Centre Fund earlier this year, securing the Fund’s first acquisition is a major milestone. The off-market acquisition of the AtlasEdge data centre in Barcelona provides our fund with an asset let on a triple net lease to a first-rate and rapidly growing operator in a key city which is experiencing substantial growth of demand for data centre services.’
‘With the second close reaching €205 mln, we believe we are in a strong position to achieve our goals for the final close and to continue executing on our acquisition plans across Europe.’
The strategy remains manage-to-core data centre assets. At least 60% of the fund is allocated to core European markets of Germany, Netherlands, France, UK, and Ireland, with up to 40% in other European markets such as Spain, Italy, and Switzerland.
