The private equity firm has bought CT Real Estate, a portfolio of 10 logistics parks for €470 million (US$495 million, or RM2.2 billion) from a venture led by TPG Real Estate, people with knowledge of the transaction said. 

The portfolio, which is located mostly in and around cities in the Czech Republic, spans about 500,000 square metres (5.4 million square feet), the people added, asking not to be identified discussing confidential terms of the transaction. 

Warehouse properties have been among Blackstone’s top real estate bets for more than a decade, with the asset class now accounting for about 60% of its European property portfolio, and 40% globally. The firm has continued to rapidly deploy capital into the sector, even as property markets have struggled to recover from the interest-rate shock, betting that rents will continue to grow. Of the US$5 billion the firm has invested in Europe this year, about half has been in warehouses. 

“Logistics continues to benefit from robust occupier and investor demand growth, supported by e-commerce tailwinds,” Blackstone’s head of European real estate James Seppala said in an emailed statement. 

Demand for warehouse space has been supported by rising online consumption, and was given an additional boost, as companies began re-assessing their supply chains in the wake of the pandemic and heightened geopolitical tensions. Urban warehouses have been a particularly high conviction bet for Blackstone, due to the scarce supply of logistics space close to where people live, and intense competition for land to build new facilities, given widespread housing shortages.

Blackstone completed this year’s largest European logistics transaction in September, acquiring a majority stake in a portfolio managed by Burstone Group Ltd for just over €1 billion. 

TPG Inc’s real estate unit has also been a significant investor in European logistics properties. It bought major warehouse landlord P3 in 2013, before selling it to a group led by Singapore’s GIC Pte Ltd three-years later for €2.4 billion. 

The private equity firm partnered with local landlord Contera to build a portfolio in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2019, with a €90 million seed portfolio, according to a statement at the time. 

“Together, we have quadrupled the size of the portfolio,” TPG Real Estate business unit partner Michiel Celis said. 

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