London-based manager Verdion, which invests exclusively in logistics real estate in the UK and Europe, has announced a first close for its second commingled fund, PERE can reveal.

The firm has attracted €75 million in initial commitments for Verdion European Logistics Fund II, out of a total target size of €400 million. When combined with leverage, the firm expects to have €800 million to deploy.

By acquiring logistics sites in established locations across Northern Europe and repositioning them through redevelopment, extensions or other improvements, the firm will employ the same value-add strategy as Verdion’s first fund, which closed in 2020 with €158 million, against a target of €300 million, per PERE data.

The firm declined to share the target return for Fund II, but it will pursue value-add returns.

According to the firm, the initial commitments for Fund II were sourced exclusively from investors in Verdion European Logistics Fund I. Verdion declined to provide the names of any investors, but said they are a mixture of European and US institutions. According to PERE data, New York-based private pension fund The Church Pension Group was among the investors in Fund I.

The first fund in the series is fully invested, having acquired 11 logistics assets across Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Verdion declined to comment on the performance of Fund I, but said the first acquisition made by the fund, a logistics center in Prague let to UPS, was sold in November 2022 and is the only realization to date.

Among the other investments made for Fund I is a €100 million speculative development at Verdion PremierPark Ludwigsfelde, an urban logistics park close to central Berlin, which is slated for completion in 2024.

Accord Capital Partners is acting as placement agent for Fund II.

Verdion has amassed €2.4 billion in assets under management. In 2013, it partnered with Canadian pension fund Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan in a joint venture to develop €1 billion of logistics assets in Europe.