EXPO 2013: Canadian pension fund HOOPP has formed a partnership with logistics property firm Verdion for funding and developing logistics parks in Europe in a deal which could see the fund invest €1bn over the next five to six years.
HOOPP, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, and Verdion, formerly Helios Europe, will work together exclusively throughout Europe.
The partnership is already developing a 110,000 m2 logistics scheme in Hanover of which 59,821 m2 is prelet to e-commerce company Netrada.
The partnership will also absorb iPort, a 6m sq ft (557,400 m2) rail logistics project in Doncaster, UK, that is expected to have an end value of £400m (€474m).
HOOPP is also to acquire a stake in Verdion’s Link Project in Germany. The project comprises three logistics schemes in Berlin, Leipzig and Ingolstadt, totalling over 350,000 m2 with an expected end value of €250m.
HOOPP and Verdion are also about to commit to another major warehouse development in Germany, prelet to an international, household name retailer.
“This is a great opportunity for HOOPP to partner with an experienced developer to create a pipeline of logistics facilities in the UK and Europe and builds upon our extensive experience and investments in the industrial sector across Canada.
“It will also be a meaningful step in expanding HOOPP’s real estate presence in Europe, which now includes direct investments in shopping centres in the UK and the Czech Republic, our co-venture with the Crown Estate in St. James’s and a number of co-mingled fund investments,” said HOOPP vice president real estate Michael Catford.
Cushman & Wakefield Corporate Finance advised HOOPP and Verdion was represented by de Morgan & Co and Lakestar Capital.
