Acquired by Fidelity International on behalf of the Eurozone Select Real Estate Fund (FIREF), it is the second disposal in France on behalf of Barings’ pan-European logistics joint venture (PELV), closely following that of an asset in Béziers in the south of the country near the Spanish border.

Barings acquired the asset in Saint-Ouen l’Aumône, a suburb to the north west of Paris, in December 2020 with the intention of redeveloping the existing building into a 23,760 sq m logistics platform that was 50% pre-let. Despite the pandemic, construction was completed in September 2021 at which point it was already 85% pre-let. Barings fully let the property to four tenants by mid-2022 and marketed the property with the help of BNP Paribas.

The asset is located in Greater Paris, within a top logistics hub in the French capital, and is 25km from the Paris ring road and 40km from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. The asset features a net lettable area of 23,760 sqm of Grade A logistics space, including two cold negative and positive storage cells. The asset has achieved a BREEAM Good certification.

PELV is a joint venture between a U.S. insurance firm and a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund, deploying its capital into diversified (core-plus to value-add) logistics property in prime European markets. PELV’s disposal of the asset in Saint-Ouen l’Aumône closely follows that of the sale of a 50,409 sqm forward-funded asset in Béziers earlier this year, as well as the acquisition of a core logistics asset, which will be known as Omega Loop, in Warrington, England.

Barings was advised by BNP Paribas.

Guillaume Bieganski, Managing Director and Head of French Real Estate at Barings, said: “Having carried out our strategic asset management initiatives to redevelop this asset into a Grade A space, we are disposing of the building in line with our business plan. The logistics market in France remains an attractive one for Barings given the fundamentals of the sector, and we’re continuing to explore opportunities in logistics as well as our other preferred sectors of residential and prime offices in city centre locations.”

Robert Schneider, Managing Director and PELV Portfolio Manager at Barings said: “This latest disposal on behalf of PELV demonstrates the strength of our asset management proposition amid a challenging economic market. With Barings’ approach of combining on-the-ground expertise with global insights, we’re well placed to continue seeking attractive returns for our investors. PELV remains active in our preferred jurisdictions, which include France, Italy, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and the Nordics, although we will be uncompromising on price, location and quality of assets as we seek to deploy our investors’ capital in spaces that we believe offer strong potential.”

Contacts:
Tali Robinson/Polly Warrack/Ben Monteith (SEC Newgate)
BaringsRE@secnewgate.co.uk 

Barings Real Estate
Barings Real Estate (BRE) is a part of Barings and offers a broad range of global investment opportunities across the private debt and equity investment markets. BRE invests in all major property sectors and offers an expansive range of financing solutions to real estate borrowers.  Follow us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/showcase/barings-alternative-investments.

About Barings
Barings is a $338+ billion* global investment manager sourcing differentiated opportunities and building long-term portfolios across public and private fixed income, real estate, and specialist equity markets. With investment professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the firm, a subsidiary of MassMutual, aims to serve its clients, communities and employees, and is committed to sustainable practices and responsible investment.

*Assets under management as of September 30, 2022