DeA Capital has signed a strategic joint venture agreement with Europa Capital to invest in the industrial logistics sector, a booming asset class across the European real estate market, in France.
The joint venture involves the English asset manager Europa Capital, specialising in real estate investment, and DeA Capital Real Estate France, a subsidiary company of DeA Capital, led by Emanuele Dubini, that is part of the pan-European platform for developing real estate activity in France.
More specifically, the partnership agreement provides for the launch of a logistics/industrial platform with a strong ESG and sustainable development footprint.
The platform being launched has an investment target of €100 million and will kick off with the development of five areas, in collaboration with developer Axtom and with the asset management partnership of DeA Capital Real Estate France.
The first portfolio consists of five assets, extending over 28,400 m2, situated between Wattrelos (Lille), Colombier (Lyon), Épernon (Chartres), Brignoles (Marseille) and Saint-Herblain (Nantes). They will be completed between the fourth quarter of 2022 and 2023.
Europa Capital notes that through this investment, the size of its current logistics/industrial portfolio has increased to 815,000 m2, over a wide geographic range, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.
Jonathan Mansie, Managing Director, Origination & Acquisitions at Europa Capital, said, “There is a huge shortage of new logistics products in our target markets and we have taken the opportunity to work closely with our new partner DeA Capital Real Estate France. Logistics returns currently provide an attractive margin over core assets and we are continuing to seek further opportunities in this area”.
Emanuele Caniggia, CEO of DeA Capital Real Estate, said, “Following the recent agreement with the US group Harrison Street to develop the built-to-rent market in Spain, this joint venture to develop logistics in France with an investor of Europa Capital’s calibre demonstrates just how reliable our panEuropean platform is in attracting large international players and guiding them through the European real estate market. International investors consider Europe as a unique market for investment and we must be prepared to offer investment products and services that meet their requirements, both in terms of location and investment class”.
Emanuele Dubini, CEO of DeA Capital Real Estate France, said, “We saw a strong demand for this asset class. The team has worked hard to generate offers from market leaders such as Europa Capital; hence we have succeeded in entering into a strong and reliable partnership. We are now focused on consolidating the platform by selecting other assets to bring to market, leveraging our ESG strategy and our extensive experience in the asset management field”.
