Patrizia buys cold storage logistics asset near Milan
Patrizia has gone shopping in Italy. The Augsburg-based group has acquired a cold storage logistics asset near Milan, close to the A7 motorway, and said it plans to grow its footprint in Italy further.
Patrizia already has a strong presence in Italy and around 45% of its 730,000 sq m portfolio consists of logistics assets.
“Our Italian AUM has grown significantly in recent years to over €1 billion now with plans to go further,” said Pierluigi Scialanga, head of transactions, Patrizia Italy. “We have invested €400 million in logistics so far and have a pipeline of a further €160 million of logistics transactions which we are completing”
The newly built 31,000 sq m cold storage asset is fully let to Kühne & Nagel and other tenants in the third party logistics and distribution sectors and was acquired from Savills Investment Management for an undisclosed sum through one of Patrizia’s flagship logistics funds.
The property is located in Casorate Primo between Milan and Pavia, a prime industrial and logistics location in northern Italy close to the motorway that links Milan and Genoa and within easy reach of France and Switzerland.
“The property is well located and has excellent sustainability credentials, while letting to tenants with strong covenants will deliver long-term sustainable returns,” said Scialanga.
The asset has a high specification with sprinklers and refrigeration space that has a temperature range between 4°C and -28 °C. Sustainability was a key consideration during its development. The asset includes two photovoltaic plants for a total power capacity of 2.5MW and is targeting a Breeam rating.
“Cold chain is an exciting area of logistics to be involved in,” said Rob Brook, head of alternative investments and head of logistics, Patrizia. “Demand is predicted to grow steadily in the next few years, especially due to a growing need for reliable supply chains for biopharmaceuticals, vaccines and clinical trials. High demand across Europe combined with low vacancy rates makes cold chain logistics an ideal growth area for the future.”
The acquisition brings Patrizia’s logistics assets under management to a total of over €6 billion and the group plans to invest more in the sector in future, as it expects strong occupier demand and extremely low vacancy rates to continue across Europe.
