Blackstone Launches 75M SF Pan-European Logistics Business
Blackstone has launched a new pan-European logistics operator and developer called Proxity.
The newly created platform will deliver “flexible warehousing solutions to a diverse customer base in Europe’s most vibrant metropolitan regions,” the company said of the launch. It will initially comprise a portfolio of approximately 500 properties and development projects totalling more than 75.3M SF of lettable area that are owned by real estate funds managed by Blackstone.
Headquartered in Frankfurt and led by CEO Guido Piñol, the company will operate across the major markets in continental Europe, the Nordics and Ireland, with plans to expand the portfolio in existing and new markets as it scales further, Blackstone added.
The move mirrors the creation of other large logistics platforms by Blackstone, like Logicor and Mileway a decade ago and, more recently, Indurent in the UK.
It typically builds these platforms up before selling or recapitalising them with pension fund investors.
The company is expected to be fully operational by 2026, with recruitment initiatives across Germany and other European markets underway.
“Logistics is one of our highest conviction themes globally, with the sector continuing to benefit from highly favourable long-term fundamentals,” Blackstone Head of Real Estate Europe James Seppala said in a statement. “The creation of Proxity is further testament to Blackstone’s conviction and our funds’ ability to deploy capital in fragmented markets to build a scalable logistics platform able to capitalize on growing and evolving customer demand.”
Joining the newly formed leadership team is Chief Financial Officer Jonas Kriebel, who, along with Piñol, previously managed German real estate investor and manager OfficeFirst. Yvo Postleb, former country head of Germany at Cushman & Wakefield, will join as chief operating officer.
“As global e-commerce and supply chain trends continue to drive occupier demand, we are excited by the opportunity to establish a truly pan-European platform which provides tailored warehousing solutions to its customers,” Piñol said. “With Blackstone’s support, we are well placed to deploy capital and deliver growth, including through our ambitious development pipeline.”
Earlier in April, Blackstone announced the final close of its latest European real estate fund, Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe VII, which raised €9.8B of total capital commitments, making it the largest European real estate drawdown fund ever raised based on third-party capital commitments, according to the company.
In total, Blackstone’s opportunistic strategies, which cover the globe, Asia and Europe, have nearly $47B of available capital, which the company said was “well positioned to capitalise on an opportunity-rich environment.”
Blackstone’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has $320B of investor capital under management.
Julian Carey, CEO of Blackstone's Indurent, will be the keynote speaker at Bisnow's UK Industrial and Logistics Transformation 2025 event on 18 June. Sign up here.
