À̹ÌÁö È®´ë [Photo by Vestas Investment Management]
South Korean real estate investment manager Vestas Investment Management has set up a 300 billion won ($271.5 million) blind fund with local institutions to target Europe¡¯s burgeoning logistics market amid growing demand for online shopping in the face of the pandemic.
The fund drew Korea¡¯s four major institutional investors including local pension funds and credit unions, according to industry sources on Thursday.
Vestas plans to use the money to acquire logistics centers in 10 European countries including Britain, Germany, France, Sweden and Spain.
When considering potential loan financing in the respective markets, the fund¡¯s assets are expected to swell to 600 billion won-700 billion won.
Vestas expects about an 8 percent annual internal rate of return on the investments.
The fund¡¯s first investment is a DSV logistics center in Tholen, the Netherlands. It was acquired for roughly 180 billion won, with 74 billion won backed by the fund and the rest sourced locally through loans.
The DSV logistics center was constructed last month and commands an area of 113,589 square meters. It is situated near major European ports including Rotterdam and Belgium¡¯s Antwerp, making it an ideal location to cover distribution in not only Europe but across Asia.
The center is in a 10-year lease agreement with DSV Group, a third-party logistics company based in Denmark.
Vestas plans to join hands with U.K. real estate consulting giant Savills Investment Management to manage the European assets under the fund. The two companies have each contributed 5 percent of their own money to the fund in a sign of joint commitment and responsibility.
Savills IM has 24 trillion won in assets under management and employs 300 people across 13 countries. It ranks sixth globally in European logistics investment.
Vestas has been eyeing the growing e-commerce market in Europe, especially as the coronavirus pandemic has fueled demand for online delivery.
Europe¡¯s e-commerce market is projected to be worth 454 billion euros ($540.9 billion) by 2024 compared with 350 billion euros today, according to market research firm Statista.
Vestas, founded in 2010, is a Korean asset management firm specializing in real estate. It now has 7 trillion won in assets under management and holds the country¡¯s biggest portfolio in European logistics assets. As of August 2020, it managed eight logistics assets in Europe, with direct investment totaling 1.3 trillion won.
It has pooled investment of more than 1.1 trillion won so far this year, launching three logistics funds and one office fund in Korea and an investment fund for multi-family housing in Virginia, U.S.
Creating a blind fund for investment in overseas properties has mostly been the domain of big global asset managers. In Korea, only Mirae Asset Management and Samsung SRA have experience in such funds. Vestas is the first boutique asset manager in the country to independently set up a blind fund targeting overseas real estate.
By Kang Doo-soon, Ahn Gab-seong and Kim Hyo-jin
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