SAVILLS IM ACQUIRES LEROY MERLIN, PIĄTEK, LODZ, POLAND FOR c. EUR 71M

London, 1 April 2020 - Savills Investment Management (‘Savills IM’), the international real estate investment manager, has completed the acquisition of the logistics unit leased to Leroy Merlin in Piątek from Invesco Real Estate, the global real estate investment manager, on behalf of Korean institutional investors managed by Vestas Investment Management (‘Vestas’).

The asset is located c.40km north of Lodz, which constitutes Poland’s central logistics location and is within 2km of the A1 motorway.  Leroy Merlin have consolidated their Polish logistics operations into the unit and have committed to occupy the building for 10 years. Panattoni reported in October 2019 that this unit was the largest single storey build-to-suit logistics facility developed in Poland to date.

The firm has completed the acquisition of the c.123,000 sq m logistics unit, following the handover of the second phase of the asset to the tenant.  The acquisition was structured as a forward commitment to purchase upon completion of the construction.  The total purchase price for the asset is approximately EUR 71 million and adds to Savills IM’s assets under management in the country which are already in excess of EUR 1bn.

This latest acquisition brings Vestas IM’s European logistics AuM to c.EUR 1bn of which c.EUR 470m is in partnership with Savills IM.

Savills IM were represented by Savills and Dentons, while Invesco Real Estate was represented by Greenberg Traurig.

Alistair Ennever, Director in the Strategic Partnerships team at Savills Investment Management, commented:

 “We are delighted to have advised Vestas and their investors on the acquisition of the Leroy Merlin facility in Piątek. The asset is well located and benefits form a long-term lease commitment from the tenant. The unit is another high quality development from Panattoni and it has been a pleasure to transact with Invesco Real Estate, who owned and funded the development. We are very pleased to have concluded another transaction with our partners at Vestas and look forward to announcing further activity in the future.”

John Palmer, Head of Industrial Investment at Savills, Poland commented:

“The transaction underlines the attractiveness of Central Poland both for institutional investors and the occupier market. Central distribution centres of large retailers, manufactures and 3PL’s consider this central location attractive for serving both their domestic and international clients and networks. From an investment fund perspective the location is core, in demand and highly sought-after.”

Petr Sramek, Director of CEE Transactions at Invesco Real Estate commented:

“We are pleased that we have encountered a very positive market environment with this logistics asset in Poland’s central logistics location. The successful sale is a reflection of the promising combination of a good asset with a stable, trusting long-term tenant in strong location.”

Jonathan Pierce, Senior Director – Fund Management at Invesco Real Estate concludes:
“The scale of our pan-European strategy provides great flexibility to our transaction approach, driving income and/ or capital return at the asset level to target consistently strong performance overall. Having funded the development and by choosing to sell now, we have exceeded our business plan and crystallised strong performance for our investors.