Pramerica, Panattoni plot €100m logistics spree

Pramerica Real Estate Investors has teamed up with Panattoni Europe to acquire €100 million of logistics real estate across Central and Eastern Europe over the coming 18 months, the firms announced today.
 
PREI, the real estate investment management business of Prudential Financial, and Panattoni Europe, the European arm of US logistics developer Panattoni Development Company, are to target investments with a minimum floor area of approximately 10,000 square metres and are at least 50 percent pre-leased prior to development.
 
The partners have seeded their joint venture, the second struck between the two firms, with the purchase of a 32,000-square-metre asset in Poland. They are “pursuing”’ a further three assets in Poland with combined floor space of 45,000-square-metres.
 
The venture will also hunt for deals in Czech Republic and Slovakia as well as Poland, although the latter country should account for 65 percent of its assets.

Pramerica will be investing capital from its Pramerica Property Partners Fund which was launched in 2007.
 
“Pramerica and Panattoni have established the JV to take advantage of continuing demand from occupiers for prime logistics space in Central and Eastern Europe, and Poland in particular, as well as growing investor demand for this type of product in the region,” the parties said in the announcement.
 
In their previous joint venture, the partners developed 11 assets comprising about 241,000-square-feet of Polish logistics space.
 
Robert Dobrzycki, managing partner for Central Europe at Panattoni, said: “With Pramerica we plan to develop a large number of new projects, which are mostly build-to-suit investments, but may include a speculative element.”