Urban logistics platform Crossbay secures €400m debt facility from Citi

Citi has previously financed a number of logistics portfolio acquisitions in Europe. Today’s announcement further grows the bank’s exposure to logistics real estate, which has proven one of the most resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic. Launched in May last year by leading private equity real estate investment manager MARK, Crossbay is designed to enable institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers to grow their exposure to the fast-growing last mile logistics sector.

In December, MARK announced a successful capital raise for Crossbay, securing €550m in equity commitments from a global range of investors. Investors included the Townsend Group, CBRE GI, Credit Suisse, Nuveen and QInvest LLC.

Marcus Meijer, CEO of MARK, said: “The debt facility announced today combined with the recent capital raise will allow us to continue to grow and expand Crossbay.

“To have negotiated debt financing for a pan-European portfolio during the major upheaval caused by Covid-19 is a testament to the hard work of our teams and also the strength of the Crossbay platform.

“The growth of last mile logistics is underpinned by technologically-driven structural shifts that pre-date the pandemic and we continue to see opportunities for growth not only in this specific sector but logistics real estate more widely.”

Rob Hughes, Director at Citi, said: “Crossbay represented a unique opportunity to finance a genuinely pan-European last mile logistics portfolio of scale comprising high-quality assets in core markets.

“Logistics real estate, and urban logistics in particular, is underpinned by solid market fundamentals and long-term growth drivers that make it highly attractive as an asset class.

“We have an active and established presence in logistics real estate, having helped finance a number of large portfolio acquisitions by major investors and are pleased to be supporting Crossbay’s continued growth.”