ING Real Estate has just made the first closing of its European Industrial Fund CV. This is a pan European industrial fund for institutional investors. The fund has a launch portfolio valued at E200m and a target size of E1 bn.
Currently the portfolio consists of four logistic properties, one in Germany (Gehespitz area, Frankfurt), one in France (Bussy Saint-Georges), one in Portugal (Logispark Montijo, Lisbon) and one in the Netherlands (Nijmegen).
The industrial fund is a non-listed and semi-open-ended. It will be investing in prime warehouses, distribution centres and light industrial properties near large population centres and in logistics hubs in European countries.
ING Real Estate is aiming to achieve an internal rate of return of 10%. Pieter Hendrikse, chief executive for Europe, said: ”This new fund offers access to the interesting industrial sector. Investors will benefit from the expertise gained with our Logistic Property Fund Europe and the recently created European acquisitions team. I am confident that we can secure the committed pipeline and build a strong industrial portfolio.”
ING Real Estate claims a proven track-record in managing logistic real estate. In July 2002 it launched its first pan-European logistics fund, a E500m non-listed vehicle which is now fully invested.
l ING Real Estate is buying three shopping centres in Poland and the Czech Republic from Dutch food retailer Ahold. The centres are in Bielsko Biala and Elbag in Poland, and Karviná in the Czech Republic. The value of the transactions will amount to about E108m, subject to due-diligence.