Italian funs manager Prelios SGR has entered the logistics real estate market with immediate plans to acquire some 鈧�350 mln of assets on behalf of a new vehicle designed to give institutional investors access to 'next generation' logistics.
The new fund, Fondo Logita, this week finalised the acquisition of three properties located in central northern Italy with an initial total investment value of around 鈧�75 mln. Logita's subsequent investment plan includes the acquisition of a pipeline of additional properties with an estimated gross surface area of around 600,000 m2, all of which are of recent construction and leased to tenants on long-term contracts (9-16 years), for a total expected value of over 鈧�350 mln.
The investment strategy is to target, on behalf of the investors, the best opportunities in the logistics segment through the acquisition - with limited or no use of leverage - of a portfolio that will generate steady and distributable income.
'With this acquisition, Prelios SGR enters the logistics real estate market, a high-growth sector that at the same time attracts international investment and is also a catalyst for local economic growth,' said Andrea Cornetti, general manager, Prelios SGR. '[The fiund] will focus, for the most part, on next generation logistic centres, state-of-the art assets featuring integrated services tied to logistics, equipped with high-level facilities and security systems.'
Cornetti continued: 'The fund is intended for institutional investors with a medium to low risk/return profile, interested in constant returns, including foreign investors specialised in the logistics sector and some international pension funds. The transaction we finalised today, after the launch of the Madison Imperiale Fund and the roll-over of the Raissa Fund, is the third significant transaction with leading international institutional investors concluded since the beginning of the year.'
