Industry News

Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva, has acquired Leicester Distribution Park (LEDP), an industrial and logistics asset spanning more than 713,500 square feet (66,300 square metres). Financial details were not disclosed. The eight-unit scheme is fully-let and was developed in three phases between 2017 and 2022. Aligning with Aviva Investors’ focus on sustainability, LEDP benefits from strong ESG credentials. Seven of the eight units have been given an EPC A rating, with the final unit currently under...

Savills Italy has introduced a new managerial role within the company, appointing Alberto Albertazzi as head of retail management. Albertazzi is charged with coordinating the property management retail and leasing out-of-town business areas. Bringing extensive experience in commercial real estate, Albertazzi began his career in 1992 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in various companies, including Finiper, Expace Expansion Italia - Unibail Group, BNPP Reim Italia, Eurizon - Intesa San Paolo Group and Henderson Global Investors. From 2013 to...

Catella has finalized its debut transaction in the Benelux market, a sale and leaseback deal for an office and industrial asset in Zoetermeer, near The Hague. The deal was executed through French SCPI real estate fund Upeka. The investment was completed at a net initial yield of 7.8% on a seven-year lease. The firm said that the deal stemmed from Catella’s acquisition of a majority stake in France’s €1.4 billion AUM Aquila Group last year. Catella Investment Management Benelux (CIMB)...

Grosvenor and Generali Real Estate (the Generali Group asset management company specialized in real estate investments) have today announced a new partnership to support residential developers with debt financing. Building on Generali Real Estate’s experience of financing real estate projects and Grosvenor’s experience as a developer and knowledge of the UK housing market, the partnership has been seeded with an initial £50m from each organisation and will be characterized by a ‘pari-passu’ co-investment strategy. Generali Real Estate and Grosvenor will...

Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces it has completed a private placement which sees it provide £50 million in funding to Hightown Housing Association (“Hightown”), which owns and manages more than 8,700 homes and care and supported housing projects across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Berkshire. The investment will help Hightown continue its delivery of new, energy-efficient, and affordable housing across the region. The Association is currently aiming to provide more than 1,000 new homes over the...

Providing c. £650 million of investment firepower, core-plus strategy will seek to achieve high sustainability credentials and leverage management’s 24-year sector track record. Clarion Partners Europe, the real estate investment fund manager specialising in logistics and industrial assets, announces that it has held the final closing of its core-plus, closed-end UK logistics fund (“Fund”). Exceeding its capital-raising target, equity commitments totaling £427 million have been secured from a mix of European, North American, and Asian institutions, including investors in Clarion...

BlackRock is to acquire Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), potentially creating an infrastructure fund manager with more than $150 billion (€137 billion) in assets under management (AUM). BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said it would buy GIP, the third-largest infrastructure fund manager, for $3 billion in cash and approximately 12 million shares of BlackRock common stock. According to IPE Real Assets Top 100 ranking of infrastructure fund managers, BlackRock came 17th last year, with an infrastructure AUM of €27.7 billion...

US privately-held developer-investor Hines has announced the start of construction of a new, high-quality distribution centre and office space at ABC Westland in Poeldijk, the Netherlands. The logistics park, owned by one of Hines’ discretionary funds, is located close to The Hague, and predominantly serves occupiers in the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, providing a wide range of services such as production, logistics, wholesale and trade, packaging and other related activities. Hines bought the asset in 2019. After receiving the...

CapMan Social Real Estate Fund invests in daycare and school assets in central Helsinki, Finland, continues fundraising The newly established CapMan Social Real Estate Fund (CMSRE) makes its first investment, investing in two daycare and one school asset in central Helsinki, Finland. Two of the buildings house the French Jules Verne kindergarten and school and one, once refurbished, will house daycare facilities operated by the City of Helsinki. All three buildings are under long-term leases. As energy performance certificates are...