Union Investment has announced the acquisition of Logistrial Real Estate AG and its 19-property strong portfolio in a €800 mln deal with Garbe Industrial Real Estate.
Logistrial was set up in 2019 with the intention of creating a core logistics property portfolio and then putting both the company and the portfolio up for sale in the capital market. The company owns a total of 19 fully-let logistics properties with a total area of around 580,000 m2. The assets including six development projects are located in Germany, Austria, France and the Netherlands
Garbe Industrial Real Estate will retain letting, property management and asset management of the existing portfolio and also of the new properties upon completion.
The properties will be added to Union Investment’s two open-ended real estate funds UniImmo: Europa and Unilmmo: Global. Fifteen of the properties, which represent an investment of 75% of the purchase price, are earmarked for the UniImmo: Europa portfolio, while four properties will be added to the stock of UniImmo: Global.
'The acquisition of the Logistrial portfolio is an important step towards strategically expanding our logistics portfolio and diversifying it across the leading European logistics markets. We are planning further steps of this kind, including portfolio acquisitions and single asset deals with developers, portfolio managers and owner-occupiers as part of sale and leaseback solutions, for example. Thanks to our excellent working relationship with Garbe, we were able to negotiate the portfolio transaction very efficiently and ensure beneficial solutions for both sides,' said Martin J. Brühl, Chief Investment Officer and a member of the management team at Union Investment Real Estate.
Prior to the acquisition of Logistrial Real Estate AG, Union Investment held 25 logistics properties worth around €1.2 bn. The Hamburg-based real estate investment manager announced in autumn last year that it aimed to at least double its logistics holdings of €1.2 bn in the coming years. It is targeting 12 European core markets for logistics investments.
Christopher Garbe, managing director of GARBE Industrial Real Estate, commented: 'As a result of Union Investment’s attractive offer and the prospect of being able to continue managing the properties in the long term, we decided to accept the offer and have successfully completed this complex transaction over recent weeks. We are delighted to have found a competent partner with a long-term focus in Union Investment.'
Garbe Industrial Real Estate currently has assets under management worth some €2.7 bn. These are spread across a number of products, including 12 logistics funds and various asset and property management mandates. Garbe Industrial Real Estate’s commercial and logistics properties and development projects are located in Germany, France, Austria and the Netherlands and provide total rental space of around 4.2 million m2.
