Hansainvest plans major drive into logistics, doubling volume

Hansainvest Real Assets, the Hamburg-based funds manager that is part of the Signal-Iduna insurance group, said recently it planned a major expansion of its holdings in distribution and logistics real estate over the coming 18 months.

Although the group has long had many logistics assets in its diverse funds, having bought its first logistics property in the UK seven years ago, it now plans to invest a further €200m to €300m in logistics, bringing its overall share in Hansainvest funds from currently 5% to more like 10% and even more. The company, with 80 employees and €4.8bn of AUM, has largely focused on residential, office and hotels to date.

The new intensified focus on logistics will encompass sale-and-leaseback deals as well as new project development, drawn by the longer rental contract durations – at an average of ten years, longer than in other asset categories. Hansainvest currently owns and manages 15 separate logistics assets in five different European countries, with five in Germany, valued at about €250m.

CEO Nicholas Brinckmann says that Hansainvest can afford to take a patient approach in a market characterised by product shortage and tough competition for available properties. 'As an institutional investor, logistics properties are attractive because they continue to generate significantly higher yields than core office and retail properties. The spread is currently still around 150 basis points,' he said.

The company recently hired Philipp Middendorp from Deka Immobilien to spearhead the drive to build up its logistics holdings. His brief will be to identify assets outside the biggest seven logistics clusters in Germany, in places such as Münster, Leipzig and around Cologne in Germany, but also in the Benelux and the UK, while keeping a watching brief on France, Spain and Poland.

The strategy, according to Brinckmann, could also involve buying logistics assets with short remaining WALTs, such as those leased by contract logistics companies, where yields could be up to 50 bps higher than with those with long leases.

Middendorp said of his forthcoming tasks, "In terms of risk classes, we intend to acquire core and core-plus properties, while also paying close attention to the potential alternative uses of the properties. We intend to acquire primarily traditional logistics assets, including warehouse, distribution and transshipment properties. Alongside portfolio properties, we will also focus on acquiring development projects."