The German fund Aquila Capital’s continued interest in logistics assets in Southern Europe has finally convinced its managers to set up a specific fund to invest in facilities of this type in Southern Europe. With a target investment volume of 1.5 billion euros, Aquila Capital Southern European Logistics (ACSEL) is focused on new, stable, income-generating and sustainable logistics properties that are compliant with ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria.

Spain, Portugal and Italy are the main focus of the new portfolio, which will have a maximum debt ratio of 50%. To date, several international institutional investors, including SCI Primonial Capimmo, have raised 330 million euros. This first close capital will be invested in a series of assets already targeted by Aquila Capital over the next 18 months.

Energy efficiency
The criteria are clear: ACSEL will only invest in logistics facilities that are built to the highest energy efficiency and environmental protection standards. Strategic locations and attractive rental conditions will also be taken into consideration. These are not new criteria; Aquila Capital has been investing in green logistics since 2012.

Among the sustainability criteria for new investments, the company will take into account links between the assets and transport hubs, in order to encourage the use of public transport and thus reduce carbon emissions. At the same time, it will seek buildings that are built to BREEAM certification standards, equipped with photovoltaic panels and which offset their CO₂ emissions.

Growing interest
Aquila currently has nine new-build assets located in Italy, Spain and Portugal. It already manages 695,000 square metres in Spain, with logistics parks under development in Illescas (Toledo), Malaga and Seville.

CEO and co-founder of Aquila Capital, Roman Rosslenbroich, explains: “We see an increasing interest among institutional investors for sustainable real estate assets, including logistics centres. The Aquila Capital Southern European Logistics fund provides a response to this demand, focusing on Southern European markets where we still see a lot of opportunities due to the need for modern, large-scale storage space.”

Overall performance
Indeed, logistics has been one of the most attractive segments in the real estate sector in recent years, as Lars Meisinger, Head of International Client Advisory and Corporate Development, highlights: “In recent years, the overall return on logistics has outperformed all other real estate sectors and we expect this to continue. Persistent uncertainty around supply chain disruption is supporting demand for distribution centres thanks to their central role in e-commerce.”

For his part, Rolf Zarnekow, Head of Real Estate, states that: “European prime rents for logistics properties are rising faster than they have been in over two decades. This rental growth is mostly concentrated in strategic locations in the major metropolitan areas, while less central big-box locations continue to lag behind, but even there we see rent increases gradually outperforming inflation as scarcity emerges.”

^{Photo: Aquila Capital}