European logistics specialist Valor Real Estate Partners (Valor) is joining forces with Canada's QuadReal Property Group (Quad Real) to invest €1 bn in urban logistics assets located in key UK, French and German cities.

QuadReal will be the majority investor in the JV, which will have initial capital commitments of €440 min that will provide, with leverage, in excess of €1 bn of investable capital. Valor, the minority investor, will be responsible for sourcing and managing the portfolio leveraging its significant experience acquiring ,developing in-house and managing infill logistics assets.

Launched against the backdrop ,of the Covid-19 pandemic, the operation underlines the continued appetite of investors for exposure to the European industrial sector and specifically urban 'last mile' logistics, a sector which has benefitted strongly from accelerating e-commerce growth in response to changing consumer behaviour, according to Valor‘s managing partner Christian Jamison. 'During the pandemic the occupational market proved to be very resilient, and investors have recognized that logistics is one of the best positioned sectors,' Jamison told PropertyEU. 'There remains a critical shortage of warehouse space in major metropolitan areas close to the necessary infrastructure to meet occupiers' requirements, an imbalance that is growing as a result of both near term drivers, such as Covid-19, as well as long term drivers, such as urbanisation. It remains however a highly fragmented and granular segment of the industrial market which requires strong local expertise as well as technical skiills, which we have demonstrated over the years in building our current portfolio.'

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