Real estate investment fund manager specialising in logistics and industrial assets Clarion Partners Europe, has announced a new exclusive UK logistics fund.
Equity commitments totalling £427m have been secured from a mix of European, North American, and Asian institutions, including investors in Clarion Partner Europe’s previous pan-European logistics strategies.
The now closed-to-investors fund will provide, with gearing, £650m of investable capital and is set to be Clarion Partners Europe’s first to solely focus on the UK, a market it recently re-entered following a seven-year break.
It will target a portfolio of high-quality, ESG-compliant logistics assets underpinned by strong rental growth fundamentals in established UK logistics hubs.
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The fund will leverage both Clarion Partners Europe’s management’s 24-year investment and asset management history, which includes over £3bn of logistics asset transactions across the UK and Europe, and the broader expertise of Clarion Partners, which has $45bn (£35.43bn), over 1000-property global industrial portfolio at its disposal.
With the flexibility to invest across the asset class, from last mile logistics to big box single tenant warehouses, the Fund will target both best-in-class assets whilst also seeking to create value through investing in underperforming assets and selective development opportunities.
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CEO of Clarion Partners Europe Alistair Calvert said: “This is an opportune time to be scaling up in the UK, a market with strong long-term property fundamentals and where we have deep experience, and which is witnessing a pricing adjustment the likes of which hasn’t been seen in at least the last 30 years.
“We focus on delivering strong investor returns by identifying the industrial sector’s evolving trends and tailoring our strategy accordingly. Having amassed a portfolio of highly sustainable products that meets the demand of today’s occupiers on the Continent, we are convinced we have the local, on-the-ground origination and asset management expertise to replicate this in the UK.”