Hines and Burstone Group launch European light industrial JV

Hines and international real estate business Burstone Group have established a joint venture (JV) to build a portfolio of light industrial properties across Europe.

Deventer, The Netherlands - Hines

Burstone will contribute 20% of the equity and oversee the investment and asset management. This JV expands on Hines' existing European industrial platform, which was valued at over €5 bn by December 2025.

The JV will pursue a value-add and opportunistic strategy, investing in various light industrial assets such as stabilised properties, vacant or short-income properties with repositioning potential, sale-leasebacks, and development forward fundings. Initially, the focus will be on Germany and the Netherlands, given their prominence in road freight and distribution within Europe. The JV will target well-connected commercial locations near major urban areas with strong occupier demand.

Already, the JV has invested over €40 mln to acquire six off-market assets (four in Germany and two in the Netherlands), totalling approximately 49,000 m2. These properties, 90% occupied by warehousing, storage, distribution, last-mile, and wholesale trade businesses as of December 2025, will undergo a phased capital expenditure program to reposition them and stimulate rental growth.

Paul Rodger, managing director, Burstone Europe, commented: “The light industrial market, which has materially repriced since the peak of mid 2022, remains fragmented in many core Continental European locations. Much of the product is underloved and undermanaged, which offers a compelling opportunity to unlock value through our asset management approach.”

Andrew Wooler, CEO of Burstone Group, stated: “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.”

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.”

Hines European Real Estate Partners (HEREP) is a collection of exclusive, closed-end funds that strategically invest in high-potential, theme-based opportunities within top European markets.