Investment manager Savills IM has acquired a distribution centre that is being built near Nuremberg by developer ECE.
The complex at Ansbach comprises 76,600 m2 of rental space, including a transshipment depot. ECE will continue to manage the project until the handover date, which is expected to be in the spring of 2020.
The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price. ECE announced at the start of construction in October 2018 that the total investment volume was €90 mln.
The property is fully pre-let to Otto for a 20-year term and will serve two companies of the Hermes Group, transporting furniture, large electrical appliances and other bulk goods. The asset will be transferred to Savills IM's ELF 2 portfolio on completion.
The location is close to the A6 motorway, which connects the metropolitan area of Nuremberg to Stuttgart and the Rhein-Neckar region.
Savills IM was advised on the transaction by Jones Day legal advisers, while trûon Rechtsanwälte acted for ECE. The deal was brokered by BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Daniel Hohenthanner, director of investment at Savills IM, said the asset was the company's seventh acquisition of the year and further deals were in the pipeline.
'XXL distribution centres with 50,000 m2 of space and up are enjoying strong demand because of the continually growing online market – and this will continue to rise.
'We are in the process of identifying further investment opportunities in the area of logistics, as well as in the office and retail asset classes, for other funds.'
