Partners Group has acquired a strategic minority stake in industrial and logistics developer Citivale Group Holdings for an undisclosed price.
Citivale, which was founded in 2010 by James Appleton-Metcalfe, currently manages more than 5m sq ft of industrial and logistics assets in the UK on behalf of a broad group of institutional investors and family offices from the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Partners Group said it made the investment as part of a new strategy to invest in real estate operating companies and their management teams to “gain exposure to the full value chain across the asset lifecycle”.
Stephen McCall, global head of platforms and OpCos at Partners Group, said: “The real estate investment landscape is undergoing a period of significant change. This is presenting new opportunities to capitalise on the evolving demands of tenants driven by growth in sectors such as e-commerce. At Partners Group, we are adopting an entrepreneurial mindset to increase the operational intensity of real estate and build a more integrated relationship with our operating partners and platforms in high conviction sectors. We look forward to working with Citivale, which has a strong track record and extensive local knowledge in logistics.”
Appleton-Metcalfe added: “We are delighted to strengthen our existing relationship with Partners Group through this strategic minority investment, which will further allow us to continue building out our team and expand the breadth of our client offering, which has delivered year-on-year AuM growth since inception.
“The significant correction in the UK logistics market since mid-2022 presents a generational investment opportunity for Citivale to accelerate its growth by sourcing opportunities for both existing and new clients. Partners Group’s investment is an incredible endorsement of our hard-working team and our established investment and development track record.”
As part of the transaction, Partners Group has appointed George Craven to Citivale’s board as a non-executive director.
Craven said: “I am excited to join Citivale as it looks to continue the strong growth trajectory that it has achieved to-date as a specialist operating partner. In particular, the focus on delivering best-in-class sustainable buildings in the UK market within the Greenbox JV aligns closely with the urgent need to deliver decarbonised real estate.”
