Luxembourg-based Industrial Securities Europe, a MARCOL company, formed a joint venture in 2005 to invest a fund of €1 billion in warehouse and logistics assets across Europe.
Within two years, a portfolio with a rent roll exceeding €54 million had been successfully created across France, Germany, Poland, Holland, Belgium and Hungary, with individual assets ranging in value from €1 million to €70 million.
The Group’s experience allows it to specialise in smaller lot sizes, particularly around Paris and Berlin, as well as secondary, multi-let stock that is often overlooked by investors but has proven to be hugely profitable given time and management expertise. The portfolio at its peak comprised of 99 properties with a total floor area of c. 900,000 sq m.
A proactive, hands-on management approach allowed relationships to be built with hundreds of tenants and the portfolio expanded in line with our business plan. This partnership approach gives the opportunity to tap into tenants’ expertise and research when acquiring in new regions.
During its ownership, the income across the portfolio increased by 28% and a blended 22.7% IRR was achieved when the remaining sub-portfolios were sold to Blackstone in 2018 for circa €500 million. MARCOL and the IS team continue to manage the portfolio on behalf of Blackstone which has a rent roll of €37 million over 650,000 sq m of lettable area.