Barings has completed the acquisition, through Italian real estate funds managed by Savills IM SGR, of two value-add logistics development sites in Italy on behalf of two different pan-European value-add funds.
On behalf of Barings Real Estate European Value Add I (BREEVA I), which closed in 2019 with an investment capacity of €300m, Barings has acquired a development site in Caorso in the Province of Piacenza in northern Italy. The site has planning consent for two new warehouses, which will bring a total of 52,000m² of Grade A logistics space to Piacenza, a core logistics submarket. Due for delivery in the first half of 2024, the two new warehouses will comprise 32,000m² and 20,000m² of space respectively and will be targeting leading ESG credentials, including LEED Gold and Net Zero Carbon.
In a separate transaction, the company has also acquired a development site in Serravalle Scrivia in the Italian region of Piedmont on behalf of Barings Real Estate European Value Add II (BREEVA II), which announced that it had reached its fundraising hard cap of €850m in February 2022. The site has planning permission for the development of a new 52,000m² Grade A logistics warehouse to Genova, a core logistics submarket in northern Italy, which will target LEED Gold and Net Zero Carbon, and is due for delivery by the close of 2023.
Marco Corti, Managing Director and Head of Italian Real Estate at Barings, said: “Both sites represented unique opportunities to bring forward new high quality logistics space into two key logistics submarkets in northern Italy, both of which are characterised by strong tenant demand and very limited supply. With a record level of take-up by occupiers in 2022, the logistics sector in Italy continues to appeal to investors.”
Valeria Falcone, Head of European Value-Add Investing at Barings, said: “The acquisition of these two sites is a strong endorsement of not only our strong local network, which allows us to identify compelling opportunities in popular sectors and execute them off market, but also our strong value-add experience and capabilities, particularly in the delivery of sustainable assets that align with the ESG priorities of both Barings and our clients. Logistic remains one of our preferred asset classes in both Italy and Europe, particularly in locations where we see space for rental growth supported by a lack of modern logistics stock to satisfy both existing and future demand”.
