Verdion has acquired a major urban logistics opportunity in Ludwigsfelde just south of Berlin from a fund affiliated with MCAP Global Finance (UK) LLP, the European subsidiary of New York headquartered Marathon Asset Management LP.
Verdion said the 149,800 sq m site has significant value-add potential and will become part of the Verdion European Logistics Fund (VELF1).
The new asset at Brandenburgische Strasse 51-53 currently includes five buildings with a combined GLA of 27,600 sq m. Verdion will retain two units with a combined 12,500 sq m of GLA – one of which is let to car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz – and redevelop the three remaining buildings to create 62,000 sq m 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 sq m to 40,600 sq m 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, says: “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.”
Oliver Kemper, Senior Investment Manager at Verdion adds: “Not only does this project allow us to better utilise an existing brownfield site but its micro location scores highly for ESG, a crucial point in our investment criteria: local train and bus station Birkengrund lies within walking distance and links the site to Berlin city centre and the wider public transport network around the German capital. Other transport links are strong too, with the site benefitting from quick access to the A10 ring motorway around Berlin and close proximity to Berlin Brandenburg Airport as well as the city centre.”
