Verdion to develop 1 million m2 with Canadian pension plan

Logistics property investor and developer Verdion is on track to develop 1 million m2 of new logistics space across Europe through its joint venture with Canadian pension fund Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP).

'We are now at about 210,000 m2 of developed space and we are well on our way to reaching 1 million m2 in the next three years,’ CEO Michael Hughes told PropertyEU in an interview during the MIPIM trade fair in Cannes. ‘We will continue to focus on markets where we can achieve good returns,’ he added.

The UK and German-based logistics specialist announced in late 2013 that it had signed a partnership with HOOPP for the funding and development of €1 bn worth of logistics parks in Europe. HOOPP has the majority interest in the partnership while Verdion holds a minority stake and manages the investments on a long-term basis.

Verdion, formerly Helios Europe, was established in January 2010 by CEO Michael Hughes and is fully owned and controlled by Hughes, together with his fellow directors. The company is the exclusive logistics partner for HOOPP in Europe, he added. 'Before the establishment of this joint venture, we worked with HOOPP on a project basis. They have been an excellent partner from the start.'

This year the partnership will start the speculative development of iPort, the 136 hectare rail logistics project in Doncaster UK, which has an estimated end value of £400 mln (€480 mln). iPort is a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) which will deliver over 557,400 m2 of Grade A logistics warehousing linked with a high-specification rail freight intermodal container facility providing rail freight services with Continental gauge clearance to all major UK ports and the Channel Tunnel. Planning permission was secured for iPort in July 2011.

‘This is a strategic site of national importance. iPort is one of the largest Grade A intermodal parks of its kind in the UK,' noted Hughes.

In addition to the UK iPort project, in October, the Verdion/HOOPP partnership secured a pre-let agreement to Siemens for a logistics and light production facility in Chemnitz, eastern Germany and a month later it signed another pre-let in Greve, Denmark. Hughes said that the company is starting to look at Central Europe as well. ‘The Czech Republic and Slovakia are good but competitive markets,' he commented. Hughes does not rule out making an entry in Southern Europe as well in the near future.

The company is currently expanding its team in Germany where in April 2012 it opened an office in Duesseldorf, headed by country manager Andre Banschus. Verdion said it will close its Vienna office as the company expands its principal activities in core Central and Western European markets. 'While Vienna suited us strategically at the start of the business, it now makes absolute sense to focus our mainland European operational base in Germany,' Hughes said.