Ontario Teachers' and Boreal IM acquire logistics portfolio in France
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Boreal IM have acquired a logistics portfolio in the French market.
The acquisition involved a 165,000 sqm portfolio of five, fully-let, logistics assets, which are located in Lyon, Nantes, and Lille. They are all easily accessed through main highways.
“This portfolio is a strategic acquisition, significantly growing our AUM in France and further diversifying our geographic presence,” said Jenny Hammarlund, senior managing director, real estate at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
“We now have the opportunity to work with a strong roster of tenants to implement ESG initiatives as we continue to build our best-in-class portfolio and create value through active asset management.”
The assets that were acquired consisted of the following:
- Belleville: A 50,000 sqm asset north of Lyon, constructed in 2010, and fully leased to a pharmaceutical company as its main national logistics centre
- Étoile sur Rhône: A 35,000 sqm facility built in 2018 located south of Lyon and leased to two French 3PLs fulfilling national and international contracts
- Nantes: A 19,000 sqm, part temperature-controlled asset, fully let to a local 3PL which uses the asset to fulfil contracts for clients located in northwest France
- Angers: Built in 2018, this 42,000 sqm asset is leased to a global contract logistics provider to serve central and western France
- Lille: An 18,000 sqm facility located in Lille’s most established logistics cluster. Built in 2018 and fully leased to an international 3PL which has consolidated its regional operations in the asset
“This acquisition allows us to firmly establish the JV in France through a high-quality portfolio in key markets with strong fundamentals,” said Xavier Aubrun, vice-president at Boreal IM. “We are pleased to demonstrate again our ability to execute throughout Europe and our commitment to the French market, a key target for us where we are expecting to grow our platform further.”
Clifford Chance, NOTER, CBRE, Etyo, and PwC advised Boreal IM and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s acquisition.
Boreal IM is an investment management firm which is headquartered in London, with staff in France and in the Netherlands.
