Union Investment has sold a logistics portfolio comprising two assets in the Netherlands for an undisclosed sum.
In Nijmegen, the German player has sold a 35,000 m2 distribution centre located at Bijsterhuizen 1127 to its tenant while in Eindhoven, it has divested 64,000 m2 warehouse to Aviva Investors.
The contemporary warehouse property in Nijmegen was designed by local architect firm Schreven BV, constructed between 1997 and 2000, and is fully leased to a worldwide courier, who purchased the property for its own use.
The Eindhoven facility is located within the logistics distribution centre ‘Acht’ in Eindhoven, situated close to both the A2 and A67 motorways and the city’s international airport.
Stephan Riechers, head of Investment Management Logistics & Light Industrial at Union Investment, said: ‘The transaction follows our recent acquisition of a Pan-European logistics portfolio that contained these assets. They were sold as they did not align with the strategy of our open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Europa. We typically focus on new developments, new builds and existing properties built in the last 10 years. The transaction was a good opportunity to optimize the fund’s portfolio.’
Douglas van Oers, director and co-head Logistics & Industrial at Savills in the Netherlands, said: ‘The logistics real estate stock in the Netherlands grew by 3 million m2 in 2020, while the vacancy rate fell from 6.1% to 5.6%, indicating continued interest in logistics real estate. In 2020, over 2.6 million m2 of logistics real estate was leased and this ongoing demand is causing rents in many regions to rise. The Eindhoven asset aligned perfectly with Aviva Investors’ desire to invest in strategically important locations for their European logistics portfolio, and the asset management opportunities of this particular property caught their interest.’
Savills, 3Stone Real Estate, Freshfields and Drees & Sommer advised Union Investment. Aviva Investors was advised by M2 Real Estate, DLA Piper and Search.
