Boreal jv buys Park Royal estate in European logistics debut

A joint venture between Boreal IM and Cadillac Fairview, the real estate arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has splashed €250m (£213m) on logistics properties in west London and Rotterdam. The jv has acquired a four-warehouse estate in Park Royal, NW10, and six warehouses in the port of Rotterdam, comprising a combined total of 1.1m sq.ft. In Park Royal, the jv has acquired Nucleus, an estate of four warehouses, from fund manager Abrdn. Constructed between 1999 and 2003, the industrial park totals 131,000 sq ft and is fully leased to a range of occupiers, including DPD. In Rotterdam, it has acquired an estate of six warehouses that were built in 2006. The two deals come as the jv seeks to assemble a €3bn logistics portfolio in Europe. It will focus on geographies including the UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain and Italy, investing in both standing assets and ground-up development. The jv intends to harness technology to measure and benchmark the carbon footprint of every asset. It will also look to upgrade the designs and energy systems of its assets. Boreal IM is led by former TPG partner Louis-Simon Ferland, who oversaw the creation of Blackstone’s acquisition programme in the European logistics sector during his time there from 2010 to 2019. He was also responsible for the formation of Logicor from a start-up to a €12.5bn pan-European logistics and last-mile-focused platform. Ferland said: “The acquisition of these assets marks the first step in our mandate with Cadillac Fairview. We will be focusing on assets across core European locations where fundamentals support outsized demand for logistics assets. “Both of these acquisitions have been driven by our focus on making thematic investments by closely analysing macroeconomic trends and identifying paradigm shifts. Our aim is to drive long-term returns for our investor and both of these deals have in place the right characteristics to deliver this.” Jenny Hammarlund, head of Europe and managing director at Cadillac Fairview, said: “Cadillac Fairview is focused on expanding its global real estate holdings and Europe is a key part of this.” She added the partnership will enable the business to “build up a significant exposure to the European logistics and last-mile sectors, which continue to have good underlying fundamentals underpinned by strong demand for best-in-class ESG driven assets”. To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@eg.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @EGPropertyNews Image: Blackstock