Elite Partners acquires Poland warehouse for more than 30m euros from GIC unit

A FUND of private equity firm Elite Partners Capital has acquired a warehouse in Mszczonów, Poland for more than 30 million euros (S$48.6 million) from P3 Logistics Park, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.

The 58,500 square-metre (sq m) facility is the largest warehouse in PepsiCo Poland's distribution network, Singapore-based Elite Partners said in a statement on Monday.

The warehouse consolidates the global food and beverage giant's logistics and warehouse processes, which were previously run out of several different locations in the Central European nation.

It is located in the south-west of Poland's capital Warsaw. It is also an hour's drive away from the Lodz terminal, the main terminal for the Chengdu-Lodz railway which links Europe to China.

The acquisition has raised Elite Partners' presence in Mszczonów Park to six buildings with a total area of more than 230,000 sq m. The company acquired five buildings in March 2020.

Elite Partners' pan-European fund - Elite Logistics Fund - was launched in January 2020, targeting specialised assets in Poland and the UK. The fund is building a portfolio of European assets focusing on specialised warehousing, in particular, for e-commerce fulfilment and food logistics. It also focuses on cold-chain logistics and logistics infrastructure, Elite Partners said.

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Victor Song, Elite Partners' chief executive and managing director, said: "The dedicated warehouse in Mszczonów is a vital part of our strategy to build up a pan-European portfolio of specialised logistics assets in Poland and the UK with specific geographical focus in the key European logistics hubs."

Enoch Tan, Elite Logistics Fund's portfolio director, said Poland has cost advantages for e-commerce fulfilment, exceptional land, sea and air connectivity, and is an important component of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Desmond Wang, JMD Holdings' executive director, said Poland also serves as a bridge for commerce and investments between Europe and Asia.

"We intend to leverage Elite Partners' expertise in private and public capital markets to unlock value and opportunities in specialised logistics," Mr Wang said.

JMD Holdings is a co-investor in the fund and a unitholder of Elite Commercial Reit, a UK-focused real estate investment trust (Reit) listed on the Singapore Exchange. Elite Partners is the sponsor of Elite Commercial Reit.

Meanwhile, GIC's P3 Logistics Parks is headquartered in the Czech Republic and also owns a second logistics hub in Piotrków, a town in Poland.