The global leader in real estate investing, Blackstone launches a €8 Bn worth pan-European logistics last mile real estate company, Mileway, to support e-commerce and urbanization.
Mileway will be headquartered in Amsterdam and will operate approximately 1,000 logistics assets acquired by real estate funds managed by Blackstone over the past several years. The new company will have the largest portfolio in Europe of the so-called “last mile” properties. Last mile properties are mainly old, unused buildings located at different parts of the cities used by e-commerce retailers to produce and store their goods. They are usually located near major highways and bridges for faster delivery to customers and meet certain requirements like facilities, state, and size. They are used by companies like Amazon and also as house dark kitchens for food delivery services such as Deliveroo.
Mileway consists of around 1,000 properties located in major European cities in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, and the Nordics. The company owns in total of more than 9 million sq. m properties and will continue to expand in existing and new markets as well. Commenting on the deal, Emmanuel Van der Stichele, CEO of Mileway, stated: “The growth of e-commerce and urbanization is intensifying the requirement for faster logistics solutions. Mileway is the number one gateway to urban markets, and we are uniquely positioned to help businesses shorten delivery times, grow their customer base and scale geographically.”
Blackstone is a leading owner of logistics properties globally, with properties across North America, Europe, and Asia. Since 2010, the company has acquired nearly 740 million sq. m of logistics worldwide.
James Seppala, Head of Blackstone Real Estate Europe, comments the deal “Mileway is a natural evolution of our European logistics strategy, which is one of our highest conviction, long-term investment themes. As the largest last mile logistics real estate company in Europe, Mileway will meet growing e-commerce-related demand and will facilitate faster delivery times and support the growth of small and large businesses.”
