KKR and Mirastar, KKR’s real estate industrial and logistics platform in Europe, have struck a forward-funding agreement to speculatively develop a 550,000 sq ft logistics facility in Widnes, Cheshire.
The off-market deal marks the fourth development deal for KKR and Mirastar with specialist developer Marshall CDP.
The development was bought through a forward-funding structure by KKR Real Estate Partners Europe II, a $2.2bn (£1.7bn) fund dedicated to value-add and opportunistic real estate investments in Western Europe.
The development will be financed by a loan made by CBRE Lending on behalf of Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund and Merseyside Pension Fund.
The facility, known as XDock, will target a BREEAM Excellent certification and an EPC A rating.
Mirastar chief executive and co-founder Ekaterina Avdonina said: “In this challenging environment, it is a testament to the team to be able to get such a large deal over the line. We remain committed to the UK logistics and industrial sector and are excited to partner with the team at Marshall CDP on this project.”
Seb d’Avanzo, managing director and head of real estate acquisitions for KKR in Europe, said the deal forms part of KKR’s strategy to “develop state-of-the-art logistics assets in markets with compelling supply-demand dynamics”.
“We will continue to provide capital solutions and leverage our relationships to unlock value in an environment where capital availability is disconnected from attractive fundamentals,” he said.
Andrew Antoniades, head of lending at CBRE Lending, said the loan was the first made under CBRE Lending’s new role investing for the Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund.
Carrick RE and Cushman & Wakefield advised KKR and Mirastar on commercial property matters.
The duo also consulted law firms BCLP and Maples Group; Savills on technical due diligence; Nova-Ambiente on environmental due diligence; Arcadis on ESG due diligence; Syzygy on solar advisory; and Deloitte on tax.
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