Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Boreal IM's Logistics Joint Venture Adds 64,000 SQM to Germany Portfolio

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (“Ontario Teachers”) and Boreal IM’s logistics JV has completed two investments in Germany totalling 64,000 sqm. The transactions now bring the portfolio’s footprint in the German market to 107,000 sqm and follow an acquisition in Hammersbach last year.

This acquisition is a 37,000 sqm contemporary warehouse in Bochum from Tritax Eurobox plc, which reflects the JV’s strategy of acquiring high-quality properties with reversionary potential in severely supply-constrained submarkets. The asset is modern, built to high specifications and perfect for urban distribution. The JV will also seek to enhance the green credentials of the asset, which already has DGNB Gold certification since its completion in 2018.

The JV has also entered into a forward funding arrangement with Panattoni Germany, which plans to deliver a 27,000 sqm warehouse in Bornheim, south of Cologne. The site was acquired with a building permit secured, and construction will commence with the aim of delivering the project in Q1 2025. The asset can be subdivided into four units and will be immediately marketed for lease.

Jenny Hammarlund, Senior Managing Director, Real Estate at Ontario Teachers’, said: “We are pleased to see the continued growth of the portfolio in Germany, a key market for us. These assets represent the JV’s success in finding and executing outsized opportunities for value creation in prime markets in Europe.”

James Farmer, Partner at Boreal IM, said: “These acquisitions are strategically important to our portfolio in a market where scale has traditionally been difficult to reach and prime stock is undersupplied. We look forward to increasing our momentum in Germany during 2024.”