New Aberdeen Standard Investments trust buys first property

Aberdeen Standard European Logistics Income (ASELI), the new investment trust launched by Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) to focus on logistics, has exchanged contracts to buy its first property.

ASI said ASELI is acquiring Florsheim Logistics Park in Frankfurt, Germany, from SEGRO Zehnte Grundbesitz – owned by UK real estate investment trust Segro – for £17.8 million.

The purchase will be funded from existing cash following the launch of ASELI on December 15, with the deal expected to close at the end of January 2018.

ASI said the move fitted well with its investment strategy, given the “modern and flexible” specifications of the building and the central location in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main area, one of Germany’s strongest economic regions.

The total property size across the park’s two newly constructed warehouses is nearly 192,000sq ft.

ASI fund manager Evert Castelein said: “We are confident that we can generate a durable income stream from this asset.”

ASELI was launched in order to take advantage of strong demand for new distribution centres around Europe as more people buy goods and services online.