Clarion Partners Europe has agreed to forward fund a Grade-A warehouse in Boisseaux, south of Paris, for €46.6m. The vendor Quartus Logistique will also act as development manager. Since the start of 2018, Clarion Europe has invested over €430m in the French logistics market, acquiring a mix of standing assets and developments and reflecting its conviction in a market experiencing one of Europe’s fastest-growing rates of e-commerce penetration.
Clarion Europe will fund the development of an institutional quality, 74,245m² logistics warehouse divisible for up to four units and suitable for a range of potential tenants. Construction is due to commence this month and is expected to complete in Q4 2020. The property will include 5-tonne floor loading, clear heights of 10.7m and will target a BREEAM Very Good certification. A pre-let has been agreed for 42% of the floor space (31,000m²) with the largest subsidiary of the Euronext-listed Safran SA, a global aerospace and defence company with a market cap of €45bn.
Boisseaux is strategically located 47km north of Orléans and 81km south of Paris, at the intersection of the Logistics Dorsale and the Atlantic Corridor. The development benefits from its proximity to the Boisseaux train station and adjacency to the N20 national road, which connects to Paris in 70 minutes, the Orly Airport in 50 minutes and the A10, a key national arterial route, in 20 minutes.
Rory Buck, Managing Director of Clarion Partners Europe, commented: “This is another highly attractive development opportunity which continues our investment strategy of identifying Grade-A assets in geographically relevant logistics locations which appeal to a wide range of occupiers for regional or national distribution. Securing a pre-let to such a strong covenant further endorses the strength of the location to provide modern big-box logistics at an affordable level with direct access to two of the largest metropolitan areas in France. As we target more ground-up development in 2021 we will continue to take advantage of a shortage of suitable stock across Europe and look to leverage our in-house expertise to drive returns.”
