The €400m minority stake targets one of Europe's most supply-constrained markets
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is taking a significant minority stake in Proudreed, one of France's largest last-mile urban logistics platforms, through a €400m co-investment alongside Blackstone.
The deal gives CPP Investments direct exposure to a portfolio of roughly 1.6 million square metres of multi-let logistics and light industrial assets spread across France, with nearly 50 percent of sites concentrated in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille.
The platform serves a diversified tenant base and carries potential for future development of more than 500,000 square metres, which would bring the total to 2.2 million square metres.
Thomas Jackson, head of real estate Europe at CPP Investments, said the investment gives the fund “immediate scale in one of Europe’s most supply-constrained last-mile urban logistics markets.”
He described the deal as part of a strategy to “access high conviction, thematic sectors, at scale,” and said it is intended to “deliver long-term, risk-adjusted returns to the CPP Fund for the benefit of CPP contributors and beneficiaries.”
Jackson added that Proudreed offers “strong embedded rental growth potential” — a feature that stands to benefit the fund as it manages obligations to Canadian pension contributors and beneficiaries.
Blackstone's James Seppala, head of European real estate, said the firm was pleased to partner with CPP Investments to continue scaling the business and meet what he called “strong demand for last-mile logistics across the country.”
Seppala credited Proudreed's management team with building “a high-quality portfolio and one of France's leading logistics platforms.”
An in-house management team at Proudreed oversees the portfolio and would support any future development activity.
