GIC unit expands presence in Germany with acquisition of retail logistics assets

GIC's wholly-owned unit P3 Logistic Parks is ramping up its presence in Germany, having inked an agreement to acquire 33 retail logistics assets there.

The real estate portfolio is in prime urban locations in major German cities and towns, and spans over 650,000 sq m of space, GIC said in a release on Thursday. GIC did not comment on the value of the acquisition.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to the necessary conditions and approvals. P3 will manage the portfolio.

Lee Kok Sun, chief investment officer (real estate) for GIC, said: "This is an attractive opportunity to strengthen P3's presence in strategic urban locations, scale up the P3 platform, and reinforce its position as a leading developer and manager of logistics properties in Europe."

He went on to highlight that logistics remains a key area for GIC as the sector is expected to deliver long-term returns on the back of the rising demand for e-commerce.

Otis Spencer, chief investment officer of P3, said: "This acquisition is one of the largest real estate investment deals in Europe this year, and one of the largest in Germany. With the support of GIC, we are actively looking for further investment deals to strengthen our position as one of Europe's leading developers and managers of logistics properties."

In the last year or so, P3 has about doubled the size of its portfolio in Germany, Europe's biggest logistics market.

This comes after P3 acquired 28 logistics assets across Europe - including Germany - for about 950 million euros (S$1.52 billion) from funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management Inc. That deal was announced in December last year.

Headquartered in Prague, P3 has over six million sq m of assets under management and land bank for further development, with operations in 11 countries.