Union Investment acquires Dutch logistics portfolio from STELLAR DEVELOPMENT
• Logistics portfolio with three forward funding speculative developments
• Acquisition for UniImmo: Global
Union Investment has partnered with STELLAR DEVELOPMENT on a speculative forward funding logistics portfolio in the Netherlands with a total lettable area of c. 83,000 m². The logistics portfolio consists of three developments in Wijchen, Aalsmeer, Utrecht. The acquisition was made for the portfolio of the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Global. The seller is STELLAR DEVELOPMENT C.V.. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
The economic transfer (closing) has now taken place for the project in Wijchen. Closing is planned for the Aalsmeer project in Q2 2021 and for the Utrecht project in Q4 2021. Union Investment was supported by 3Stone Real Estate, Loyens & Loeff for legal advisory, PwC for tax advisory and CBRE for technical advisory.
“As the fifth largest economy in the EU, the Netherlands has developed into an important distribution centre in Europe due to its favourable location and first-class air and sea ports. All three projects are in established locations. Aalsmeer is close to Schiphol Airport, and Utrecht is a well-known e-commerce cluster,” says Stephan Riechers, Head of Investment Management Logistics & Light Industrial at Union Investment, and continues: “Wijchen, on the other hand, is a strong logistics market with high demand for national XXL logistics and is one of the four fastest-growing logistics hotspots in the Netherlands.”
The first project to be developed is located in Wijchen. The c. 37,000 m² project will be finished in Q1 2022 and is on the Bijsterhuizen Zuid industrial estate, only 1.3 km away from the A326 motorway intersection and around 10 km from the inland port of Nijmegen. BREEAM ‘Very Good’ sustainability certification is also planned.
The second project to be developed is located in Aalsmeer. The c. 23,000 m² project will be finished in Q2 April 2022 and is located south-east of Schiphol Airport between the airport and “Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer”, the central auction house for flowers in the Netherlands. The A4 motorway (Amsterdam-Rotterdam) is only 6 km away and the A2 (Amsterdam-Utrecht) 16 km. A BREEAM ‘Very Good ‘ sustainability certification is planned.
The third project to be developed is located in Utrecht. The c. 23,000 m² project will be finished in Q4 2022. Utrecht is located in the geographical centre of the Netherlands, around 35 km south-east of Amsterdam. The city has a good connection to Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport via the A2 motorway and to Rotterdam via the A12 motorway. BREEAM ‘Very Good ‘ sustainability certification is also planned for this project.
All three projects will stand for a “STELLAR” execution balancing architecture, nature, technology and function.
“Union Investment’s logistics portfolio is set to grow to a volume of over EUR 5 billion in the medium term. The purchase of the portfolio from STELLAR DEVELOPMENT is a further step in this direction. A total of twelve European country markets are on our acquisition radar, including Germany, the Netherlands, France and Poland,” says Riechers. Union Investment’s logistics portfolio currently comprises 57 properties with a volume of around EUR 2.5 billion.