The international real estate investment, development and management firm Hines has acquired, through its Hines European Core Fund (HECF), a logistics property in Castellar del Vallès, Barcelona, from the multinational Segro.
The asset has a total surface area of 49,231 square metres and has excellent communications due to its strategic location close to the AP-7 motorway and the main logistics corridor in Barcelona. According to Expansión, the transaction has been completed for a total of 65 million euros. The property aims to obtain BREEAM Very Good certification in the future, through an action plan that may include improving energy efficiency and water consumption among other issues. The logistics warehouse is currently occupied by ID Logistics, one of the largest logistics operators in Europe.
This acquisition reinforces HECF's commitment to the logistics sector, which to date has nine assets in six European countries, with a total surface area of more than 380,000 square metres. In Spain, this is the fund's third acquisition in this sector, together with two other assets with a surface area of 9,798 and 7,676 square metres respectively, both located in Villaverde, Madrid, and occupied by the logistics operator Ontime, under a long-term contract.
Simone Pozzato, managing director and fund manager of HECF, said: "We have a clear investment strategy to continue to invest our capital in the European logistics sector, given the opportunity for long-term value creation, the imbalance between supply and demand and the ongoing need for logistics operators to have quality space. We had been looking to enter the Barcelona logistics market for some time as Hines believes that the city has become a key logistics hub in Spain and Europe due to its connectivity.
Vanessa Gelado, senior managing director and country head of Hines Spain, added: "This acquisition is an excellent opportunity for Hines to invest in the Barcelona logistics market, a market characterised by a lack of supply and limited land for new development due to its location between the sea and the mountains. It is located on a crucial transport hub for national and international logistics and, more recently, for e-commerce. In addition, the Spanish logistics market is experiencing a record year in terms of occupancy, with very solid demand fundamentals".
Savills, Garrigues and EY advised Hines, while Knight Frank, Cushman & Wakefield and KPMG advised Segro. The acquisition was financed by pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank in its first collaboration in Spain with the HECF fund.
