Billionaire Zara founder pays 327 million euros for Italy logistics assets

AMANCIO Ortega, the billionaire founder of Spain’s Zara, has acquired logistics assets in Italy for 327 million euros (S$470.62 million). 

The purchase, which includes locations in Milan and Rome, follows a string of similar deals by Ortega investment vehicle Pontegadea Inversiones, a company spokesperson said, confirming an earlier report by Green Street News.

Pontegadea at the end of last year acquired a logistics centre in Dublin used by companies including Amazon.com, and this year bought a warehouse in the Netherlands used by fashion retailer Primark Stores. 

The deal comes at a moment of retrenchment in Italy’s industrial and logistics real estate sector, which saw investments of 180 million euros in the second quarter, down 26 per cent year-on-year, according to a CBRE report.

Pontegadea began buying up logistics assets in 2022, spending nearly US$1 billion on warehouses in US states including California, Texas and Pennsylvania. BLOOMBERG