Singapore | London, 16 November 2020 – GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, and Melcombe Partners (“Melcombe”), a European urban logistics investment manager, have agreed to enter into a joint venture (the “Venture”) to acquire and develop urban logistics properties in Europe.

The Venture will acquire and develop last-mile distribution centres and urban logistics assets well-located in Europe’s main gateway cities, with a focus on the UK, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. Melcombe will source, operate and manage the assets.

Ludovic Bernard, Partner, Melcombe Partners, said: “We are excited to announce the formation of this Venture with a world-class investment fund like GIC. This will allow the Venture to unlock the full potential of the fragmented European urban logistics markets and capture the sustained growth of the sector underpinned by spiking e-commerce activity, tightening supply of logistics space in large European cities, restrictive land planning rules and increased focus on global supply chain resilience. The Venture will benefit from Melcombe’s strong expertise within the sector and our on-the-ground local presence which will allow us to successfully source, manage, add value to the assets and end-customers.”

Lee Kok Sun, Chief Investment Officer of Real Estate, GIC, said, “This Venture reflects GIC’s continued confidence in the long-term potential of the logistics sector. The urban logistics sub-market will benefit from positive fundamentals, reinforced by increasing occupier demand due to accelerating e-commerce adoption and changing supply chain management strategies. We believe the Venture’s focused strategy, with the management of a skilled partner such as Melcombe, will generate resilient returns in the long run. We look forward to expanding our partnerships and exploring further opportunities in this attractive sector.”