Aberdeen Standard completes first Spanish logistics investment

Aberdeen Standard Investments has entered the Spanish market with a €15 million logistics investment.

Aberdeen Standard European Logistics Income has agreed the forward purchase of a new warehouse that is being built in León to serve, reportedly, as Decathlon’s new logistics center for northern Spain from 2019 onwards.

Although Aberdeen has informed via press release that the tenant will be an «international distribution company» without specifying the company name, sources within the sector believe that the tenant will be Decathlon. The new facility would replace the one that the French sports goods company currently has in Navarra.

Aberdeen Standard expects to obtain an annual return of 6% with the lease which will have a 10 year obligatory term linked to IPC growth. The property has 32,600m² of GLA and the tenant has the option to extend the property in as much as 10,020m².

Aberdeen’s logistics fund manager, Evert Castelein, has informed that «the property will be able to generate a sustainable income thanks to the quality of the site, its modern features and the long-term rental contract».

Following the merger of Standard Life plc and Aberdeen Asset Management plc in 2017, the group has become one of the world’s largest investment companies. Re-branded as Aberdeen Standard Investments, the company has assets under management of €648.5 billion (as at 31/12/17), making it the largest active manager in the UK and one of the largest in Europe.