The industrial fund, co-sponsored by Axa Real Estate Managers, has attracted KPN Pension Fund, PGGM, and the government of Singapore as investors
UK industrial property company The io Group has announced the first closing of its European Industrial Partnership (€IP) fund.
The fund, which is co-sponsored by Axa Real Estate Managers, has raised €220m, which will be geared to fund an investment programme of up to €550m. International investors include PGGM, KPN Pension Fund and the Goverment of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).
The fund will buy income producing industrial estates which will be branded under the company’s io sytem. This consists of offering units within multi-let industrial estates on flexible terms. A later strategy of the fund will be to undertake development. The io Group will partly source product through its local joint ventures in Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin-Gvio, io Netherlands and Gmba respectively. John Sims, chief executive of The io Group, said: “The commencing investment programme is very much a first phase of the total plan to consolidate and co-ordinate what is currently a localised and fragmented market for our character of property in Europe.”
He added that he expected later rounds of funding to be attractive to UK institutions. “We see an expansion of €IP occurring after this initial placement of funds, which will provide UK institutions with a natural access to indirect exposure to this market.”
Dr Seek Ngee Huat, president at GIC Real Estate, one of the fund’s investors, said: “We hope to see the fund create a branded portfolio, which is lacking in mainland Europe. Part of GIC’s strategy is to back specialist and focused operators.”
