Ivanhoé Cambridge has bought seven last-mile logistics assets for €70m (£59.5m) as it launches its new logistics strategy for Northern Europe.
The partnership will link Ivanhoé Cambridge and URBZ Capital, an urban logistics-focused investment and asset management boutique.
The duo aims to deploy up to €400m to develop a large portfolio of last-mile logistics assets in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and the Nordics. It already has a strong deal pipeline in the Netherlands. URBZ will act as asset and investment manager.
As part of this new strategy, Ivanhoé Cambridge aims to increase its exposure to prime assets that are very well located in the heart of cities, in line with the ongoing transformation of the supply chain and the latest market standards, both in terms of sustainability and innovation.
The first seven assets cover a floor area of around 600,000 sq ft and are located in Rotterdam, Utrecht and Eindhoven.
Ivanhoé Cambridge has made a significant shift towards the logistics sector in recent years, with investment rising from 5% of its global portfolio in 2015 to 16% in 2020. The new strategy is in line with Ivanhoé Cambridge’s PLP partnership, which develops logistics hubs in the UK, and the 19-site Hub & Flow portfolio in France.
“Our last-mile strategy aims to anticipate structural market trends and to support new tenants’ needs linked to the rapid e-commerce growth: developing modern and low-carbon facilities located in the heart of cities to deliver urban customers faster,” said Michael Neuman, vice-president, investments, Europe at Ivanhoé Cambridge. “Due to the granularity of the last-mile assets, we deemed it necessary to have a specialised partner to deploy our capital. Alongside URBZ Capital, we look forward to growing our portfolio in other major cities in Northern Europe in the coming years.”
Ivanhoé Cambridge and URBZ Capital were advised by Avison Young, JLL, 1530 Real Estate, Ooms Makelaars, AKD, Stevens van Dijck and ERM.
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