Real estate heavyweights Hines and Burstone Group have announced a new joint venture aimed at assembling a pan-European portfolio of light industrial assets. The partnership is backed by the Hines European Real Estate Partners III (HEREP III) fund and has already deployed over R760 million. This initial investment secured four properties in Germany and two in the Netherlands, totalling approximately 49,000 square metres.

Burstone Group holds a 20% equity stake in the venture and will take the lead on investment and asset management. The firm’s specialist 22-person team has a track record of over R96 billion in industrial transactions since 2016. The new strategy focuses on the most liquid logistics markets in Europe, specifically Germany and the Netherlands, which dominate road freight and distribution hubs.

The joint venture adopts a value-add approach, seeking properties with repositioning potential or those currently vacant. It will also consider sale and leaseback deals and development funding. The partners are specifically looking for assets in established commercial zones near major urban centres with high occupier demand.

Andrew Wooler, CEO of Burstone Group, commented: “This partnership is another milestone in further broadening our capital partner base, and delivering on our strategy of building global fund and asset management business. Our focus now is to execute on an attractive pipeline of strategically aligned and accretive opportunities in high growth locations in Europe’s dominant industrial and logistics submarkets.”

Hines brings its extensive European industrial platform to the deal, which had a gross asset value of more than €5 billion at the end of 2025. The HEREP III fund reached its final closing in November 2023 with over €1.6 billion in equity, making it one of the largest value-add funds in the region.

Alfonso Munk, Global Co-Head of Investment Management, Hines, added: “Today’s market presents a compelling opportunity for patient capital, as supply chain shifts driven by nearshoring and deglobalization strengthen the role of light industrial real estate. With attractive entry pricing and resilient fundamentals, this segment is well suited to our HEREP III strategy.”

As of December 2025, the initial seed portfolio was 90% occupied by companies in the distribution and wholesale sectors. The venture now plans a phased programme of capital improvements to enhance the assets and increase rental returns.