LIP Invest, a provider of special real estate funds in the asset class of logistics real estate in Germany, solemnises its fifth anniversary as an investment house for logistics real estate with a celebration attended by fund investors and its employees.
Since its foundation in 2017, LIP Invest has launched 4 funds and thus invested 1.6 billion euros in German logistics properties. The portfolio now consists of 56 properties with a total lettable area of 1.1 million square metres and rental income of over 60 million euros. More than 60 institutional investors from the circles of insurance companies, pension funds, banks and savings banks as well as large foundations have subscribed to LIP fund shares for around 950 million euros.
“Committed and good work pays off – investors are now asking us directly about investment opportunities. At the start of the company, when Sebastian and I were squatting on top of each other in a one-room office, we still had to do a lot of door-to-door canvassing,” recalls Bodo Hollung, partner and managing director of LIP Invest, adding: “With us, investors get close to the company management and we are always available. Customer proximity and a personal relationship of trust are very important to us. We live by our slogan ‘Think further – get closer’ and are acting with a lot of heart and soul.”
From a start-up consisting of two people, LIP has developed in a very short time into one of the leading providers of special real estate funds with a team now consisting of 15 people. The management team was also broadened last year; first with the appointment of Sebastian Betz as second managing director and in October with the awarding of procurations to Natalie Weber, Head of Fund Management, and Daniel Pahl, Head of Transaction Management and in-house lawyer.
“With the strong team we have built up, we will be able to launch Fund 5 in 2023,” believes Sebastian Betz, Managing Director of LIP Invest. “Our Fund 4 has already reached halfway time after the first property purchase at the end of December 2021. With an investment volume of 250 million euros and 10 properties purchased, including ongoing transactions, the fund is already more than 50 percent invested. The 2nd closing is therefore imminent; interested investors can still participate. The investors interest in our logistics real estate funds will remain high after that. On the one hand, investors appreciate the close and personal relationship we maintain. On the other hand, logistics real estates as a stable asset class represent a reliable investment. We have already reacted to the increased interest rates and high inflation rates and have strategically repositioned ourselves in the purchase of logistics properties.”
Over the past five years, the investment house has expanded its academic commitment in addition to its logistics real estate portfolio. LIP is represented at several universities within the scope of teaching assignments, deals with the requirements of the logistics real estate of the future and is regularly invited to give lectures on current developments in the logistics real estate market. Recently, LIP contributed to the “Handbuch Immobilienwirtschaftsrecht” (Handbook of Real Estate Business Law) published by C.H. Beck Verlag.
“Following our numerous publications of books, studies and specialist articles on logistics real estate, the participation in the Handbuch Immobilienwirtschaftsrecht represents another milestone for us on the way to more transparency and further education in the asset class,” Hollung is pleased to say.
LIP Invest is also looking ahead in terms of the energy transistion and is pursuing its own photovoltaic strategy with the aim of equipping the potentially usable roof areas with solar modules. The focus is on self-consumption systems so that the tenants of the logistics properties can obtain the energy produced directly as green electricity.
