• MARK’s urban logistics platform has completed the acquisition of three distribution centres  
• Acquisitions add circa 40,000 sq.m of space to Crossbay’s new portfolio  
• Deals follow the €1.6bn exit of Crossbay’s first portfolio to Prologis in 2022  

Crossbay, the pan-European last-mile logistics platform incubated by MARK, has added almost 40,000 sq.m to its new portfolio with the acquisition of three distribution centres in the Netherlands. 

Crossbay, which exited its first portfolio to Prologis for €1.6bn in September 2022, has acquired two fully-let assets in the Randstad region and one in Tilburg, South Netherlands. 

A 16,500 sq.m distribution centre in Leiden has been acquired on a sale-and-lease-back agreement with leading IT distributor Flex IT. The property is located next to the A4 highway connecting Amsterdam to Rotterdam, with a catchment area of 5.2million people within a 30 minute drive. 

The second asset in the Randstad region is in Hazerswoude-Dorp, where Crossbay has completed a sale-and-leaseback agreement on a long-term lease with an international wholesaler.  The 10,500 sq.m fully-electrified property, constructed in 2023, is less than 20 minutes from the key logistics hubs of Bleiswijk, Alphen aan den Rijn and Waddinxveen and has a catchment area of over 3.3 million people within a 30 minute drive. 

In Tilburg, Crossbay has completed a sale-and-leaseback agreement on a long term lease with transportation manufacturer Vlemmix. The 13,000 sq.m acquired asset is next to two key connectivity routes, the A58, between Breda and Eindhoven, and the A65, connecting Tilburg to Den Bosh. All major cities in the South of the Netherlands are easily accessible and Eindhoven airport is 20 minutes away.

Crossbay will implement a range of ESG focussed asset management programmes across the assets, which have strong existing sustainability credentials. The Hazerswoude-Dorp property – which has an A+++ energy label and aims for full energy sufficiency using roof-mounted panels – features a 12-metre clear height; electric vehicle charging points, four dock-level doors,  four drive-in doors and a timber roof construction. 

Other sustainability features across the assets include A+ energy labels, smart meters and a strong backlog of operational energy data. Crossbay will target BREEAM in-use certification in the hold period as a minimum and introduce EV charging points where possible.  

Marco Riva, CEO of Crossbay and head of logistics at MARK, said: “The Netherlands is one of Europe’s strongest logistics markets, marked by low vacancy rates and limited supply of strategically located stock that either has existing sustainability credentials or potential to implement ESG focussed asset management and upgrade strategies. Our teams of local experts in core logistics territories enable us to continue source and execute on these attractive opportunities.

“The resilience of logistics has been proven in a fluctuating market, with rental growth holding up and the price reset being an opportunity for managers who have capital to deploy and experience in timing the market, which we successfully demonstrated with our first vehicle.”

Launched in May 2020 by leading investment manager MARK, Crossbay was designed to enable institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers to access the fast-growing last urban logistics sector.

Crossbay’s second vehicle, which launched in October 2022 and will enter new geographies such as Denmark, Sweden and the UK, secured a €250m debt facility from global investment bank Citi.

Consultants for the acquisitions include Cushman & Wakefield, Deloitte Florent and CBRE, who undertook climate risk due diligence.