Union Investment has acquired a logistics centre in Buchelay, France. The property, which is fully leased on a long-term basis to the beverage retailer France Boissons, is located only about an hour's drive from Paris in the Parc d'Activité Mantes-Buchelay, one of the largest mixed-use commercial areas in the region. The site has direct access to the A13 motorway (Autoroute de Normandie), an important corridor for freight traffic between Paris and Normandy. It also has good connections to rail freight transport, river freight transport and air freight transport.
"The property fits perfectly with our investment strategy, as it combines strong fundamentals with an excellent location close to Paris, one of Europe's most attractive and resilient logistics markets. The acquisition of this core property reflects our continued confidence in the French logistics sector and our commitment to building a high-quality, future-proof portfolio," said Karim Esch, Chief Investment Officer and Member of the Management Board of Union Investment Real Estate GmbH.
The purchase is being made for an open-ended special real estate fund from Union Investment. The seller is the French investment company Weinberg Capital Partners. The purchase price was not disclosed. After two years of restraint on the real estate investment markets, the transaction marks Union Investment's return to the buy-side.
"Real estate is still an integral part of the strategic asset allocation of institutional investors and pricing in many markets for properties with good substance is working again. The early market cycle we are currently in offers attractive investment opportunities and value appreciation potential. Together with our institutional investors, we are taking advantage of the current market environment to rejuvenate and strategically develop the real estate portfolio of our special fund," says Michael Kammerzell, Head of Institutional Real Estate Special Funds at Union Investment. For the fund, which is managed by Union Investment Real Estate GmbH, two further acquisitions are pending this year.
The modern logistics property, built in 2025, has a total lettable area of around 18,690 m², which is spread over three units and thus also enables flexible use by third parties. It was built in a hybrid construction of concrete, wood and steel and will be equipped with a rooftop solar system that feeds electricity into the public grid. The building has the BREEAM "Excellent" sustainability certification.
