European logistics specialist Verdion has acquired a major urban logistics opportunity in Ludwigsfelde just south of Berlin from a fund affiliated with MCAP Global Finance (UK), the European subsidiary of New York headquartered Marathon Asset Management.
The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
The 149,800 m2 site has significant value-add potential and will become part of the Verdion European Logistics Fund 1 (VELF 1).
The new asset at Brandenburgische Strasse 51-53 currently includes five buildings with a combined GLA of 27,600 m2. Verdion will retain two units with a combined 12,500 m2 of GLA – one of which is let to car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz – and redevelop the three remaining buildings to create 62,000 m2 of modern urban warehousing.
Construction is set to start on a speculative basis by the end of 2022 and units will vary in size from 5,000 m2 to 40,600 m2 to provide flexibility and speed to market for a wide range of occupiers.
The new buildings will be developed to high sustainability standards, aiming to incorporate renewable energy generation technology as well as reducing the site’s overall energy consumption. Verdion is targeting a minimum of DGNB Gold for the new buildings.
Florian Stöbe, head of Investment – Germany at Verdion, said: ‘This site offers a significant opportunity to create a high-quality urban logistics park serving the German capital and allows us to tap into its robust market fundamentals for our investors. Its superb location enables us to compete robustly in the Berlin urban logistics market and we expect strong occupier interest. This investment also sets the tone for our future fund activity: urban logistics is a major focus, driven by rising demand resulting from changing consumer behaviour and the opportunity to create more sustainable warehousing through the reduced environmental impact that brownfield regeneration brings.’
Verdion has a strong track record in the Berlin market. The company has developed, managed and leased over 136,650 m2 of logistics space at Schoenefeld close to Berlin Brandenburg Airport, firstly Verdion Air Link Park, developed in partnership with AEW and Tristan Capital and latterly Verdion Airpark Berlin on behalf of German investment manager Patrizia. Verdion Airpark Berlin was sold to CBRE Investment Management in 2020.
