Investment giant KKR has acquired a stake in logistics investment and operating platform Mirastar, which is owned by M7 Real Estate in partnership with Goldman Sachs.
KKR will use the deal to expand its presence in European industrial and logistics real estate. Mirastar will be the investment firm’s primary platform for this.
The pair aim to build a portfolio of assets and development projects in gateway cities across Western Europe. They have so far acquired a 49,000 sq m (527,000 sq ft) forward funding project in the Netherlands.
KKR has acquired more than 8m sq ft of industrial space over the past 24 months across France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Ireland.
The investment in Mirastar was made through a European real estate fund managed by KKR.
Mirastar was co-founded in 2019 by Ekaterina Avdonina, its chief executive, and Anthony Butler, chief investment officer, with initial platform backing from M7.
The team currently comprises 15 senior real estate professionals and has offices in London, Madrid and Rotterdam.
Guillaume Cassou, partner and head of European real estate at KKR, said: “Logistics real estate continues to be an attractive market for KKR, despite the challenges of the current market environment, with strong investment fundamentals and future growth drivers.”
Avdonina said: “Against the difficult market backdrop prompted by the outbreak of Covid-19, our conviction in the underlying, long-term structural forces behind the growth of logistics real estate remains.
“We have identified an attractive pipeline and are well placed to act on opportunities in the market.”
Richard Croft, executive chairman of M7 Real Estate, said: “Backing new ventures has always been a passion of M7’s, and having supported Ekaterina and Anthony with the launch of their business, it is pleasing to see them move into the next phase of growth with KKR. We wish them well on their future journey.”
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