Barings Real Estate, part of Barings LLC, has acquired a 184,000 m² logistics asset in Germany from a joint venture between a U.S. investor and M7 Real Estate (“M7”) for approximately €90m. Barings has bought the property on behalf of a U.S. institutional investor and the purchase represents one of the largest transactions within the European logistics sector over the last 12 months.
The asset is fully let to the department store chain Karstadt until 2026 and operates as its national distribution site. The asset is located in Unna, a city at the border of the Ruhrgebiet close to Dortmund, and is one of the leading logistics clusters in Germany.
Christoph Wittkop, Managing Director and Country Head, Germany at Barings, said: “Following recent acquisitions of logistics assets in both Spain and France, we are pleased to have now completed our first acquisition in this sector in Germany. We are planning to significantly increase our logistics exposure across Europe, including CEE, through the acquisition of existing assets as well as through forward funding or purchasing developments. We are targeting core to value-add opportunities and will consider both single properties, as well as country-focused or pan-European portfolios.”
"We acquired the Unna logistics scheme over two years ago, and quickly succeeded in generating an attractive investment product, which attracted a great number of potential buyers. This enabled us to realise a significant value increase for the joint venture’s shareholders while leaving further potential value creation for the purchaser,” explains Alyssa Huse, Managing Director of M7 in Germany.
Savills acted as agent on the transaction and Barings was advised by RLI Investors. Goodwin acted as legal adviser to Barings while Simmons & Simmons acted for the vendor.
