Hines, the international real estate firm, has acquired an 85,000-square-foot urban logistics center in Enfield, Greater London, on behalf of the Hines Pan-European Core Fund.
The acquisition comes as the Hines Pan-European Core Fund has secured a further €141 million of new commitments, and confirms the recently announced expansion of the Fund’s investment scope to include urban logistics and residential.
The purpose-built e-commerce distribution center was completed in 2010 and is fully let to retailer John Lewis Partnership on an 11.5-year lease. Located within the Innova Business Park, the site is just 1.5 miles from Junction 25 of London’s M25 orbital motorway and benefits from easy access into central London. The site was acquired in an off-market transaction for an undisclosed price.
Peter Epping, fund manager of the Hines Pan-European Core Fund, said: “This is an excellent asset that will generate positive long-term returns and benefit from the high demand for e-commerce facilities in and around London. Our objective is to increase the Hines Pan-European Core Fund’s portfolio of last mile logistics assets in top-tier European cities, as part of our wider strategy to diversify the fund towards logistics and residential. Our latest funding close underlines how positively this strategy has been received by both new and existing investors.”
Greg Cooper, Hines UK director of industrial and logistics, said: “This acquisition demonstrates an ability to forensically identify key growth markets and subsequently source best-in-class assets. John Lewis Plc is a high-quality tenant and demand for well-specified logistics facilities within easy reach of central London continues to grow rapidly against an increasingly supply restricted backdrop. We are increasingly focused on opportunities with similar characteristics in this dynamic and fast-moving sector.”
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 214 cities in 24 countries. Hines has approximately $120.6 billion of assets under management, including $66.5 billion for which Hines provides fiduciary investment management services, and $54.1 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 128 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,348 properties, totaling over 444 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 512 properties, representing over 223 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.
Since entering Europe in 1991, Hines has grown its European platform to include a presence in 55 cities in 13 countries and Hines currently has €16.7 billion of assets under management in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Visit www.hines.com for more information
