Former Gazeley chief executive John Duggan has teamed up with Axa to launch a new industrial development company.
The sheds veteran will be non-executive chairman of Baytree Logistics Properties, which has an initial commitment of €100m (£71m) from Axa Real Estate Investment Managers.
He will lead a team including former Gazeley colleagues Jonathan Priestley and Jonathan Fenton-Jones. Rabih Modad has been hired from UBS as Baytree’s managing director.
The new company marks a significant expansion of Axa’s development activity. The fund manager is already a major sheds investor, with a £1.8bn portfolio spanning 270m sq ft.
Axa’s initial commitment to Baytree is expected to grow substantially, with the firm hoping to build it into one of “Europe’s leading developers of industrial and logistics real estate”.
Baytree will work with Axa’s investor clients to develop build-to-suit and speculative sheds in prime locations. It will also have a strong emphasis on sustainability.
Pierre Vaquier, chief executive of Axa Real Estate, said the new company was designed to serve investors seeking access to medium-risk, regular-income-producing assets.
Duggan, who left Gazeley after 20 years in 2008 when it was sold to Dubai World, said the new company had “huge potential for growth” combining both scale and expertise.
Dorrien Thomas, Axa Real Estate’s regional head of asset management and transactions for Northern Europe added: “We believe the opportunity is compelling because of the under supply of prime stock.”
Contrary to many of Europe’s largest industrial developers, Baytree will develop all forms of industrial property and will not be solely focused on big box sheds, pursuing a range of strategies to suit Axa Real Estate’s diverse investor base.
