ProLogis plans 'aggressive' expansion strategy

ProLogis aims to become more active on the acquisition front in Europe following its merger with AMB. 'We're on our front foot and looking for growth through good-quality acquisitions and our ongoing development programme,' Philip Dunne, president of ProLogis Europe, told PropertyEU. 'We have a fairly aggressive deployment plan.'

The recently merged entity, which was formally launched earlier this month, has EUR 8.7 bn of assets under management in Europe covering 13.6 million m². Globally the industrial property specialist has some EUR 34 bn of AUM encompassing 56 million m².

Dunne said the US-listed company would initially focus its acquisition drive on quality A-grade assets in Western Europe and the UK. While conceding that the market for core products had become 'pricey', he insisted that opportunities still exist. 'We are digging out the opportunities and believe we can secure them. We will absolutely see some deals this year.'

He declined to provide further details, but said the company has capacity to deploy some $3.2 bn (EUR 2.2 bn) worldwide, with roughly a third targeting investments in Europe. This includes the EUR 490 mln allocated earlier this year to the European joint venture between AMB and German insurer Allianz Real Estate. AMB's open-ended European logistic fund also has capacity to invest another EUR 150-300 mln while Prologis' PEPF II fund could take on a little more leverage, and raise new equity if that makes sense for the fund and its investors, he added.

Dunne said the company would remain highly focused on strengthening its balance sheet, adding that he sees enhanced development opportunities in Europe following the merger. 'We continue reshaping our land bank for the future and within each of our funds we will recycle and shape geographic allocations focusing on exiting non-core assets and locations,’ he said.

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