The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) has entered into an agreement with logistics investor and developer Verdion to fund and develop logistics parks in Europe.

“The new partnership enables us to enlarge our development team and offer an enhanced service to our clients,” says Michael Hughes, CEO of Verdion. “The HOOPP Real Estate team is very entrepreneurial, highly respected and operated to the highest international professional standards.”

The two organizations will work together exclusively for logistics development throughout Europe, with plans to build a portfolio of over €1 billion over the next five years. Verdion will continue to work with the largest third-party logistics providers, retailers and manufacturers in Europe to deliver high-quality logistics schemes.

HOOPP and Verdion have already invested in the development of a 1.18 million square foot logistics scheme in Hanover, of which approximately 644,000 square feet has been pre-let to Netrada, a luxury goods e-commerce solutions provider.

The partnership will also own and develop iPort, a six million square foot rail logistics project in Doncaster, U.K. The value of the project is about £400 million. Additionally, HOOPP will acquire a stake in Verdion’s Link Project in Germany, which has an end value of €250 million.

“This is a great opportunity for HOOPP to partner with an experienced developer to create a pipeline of logistics facilities in the U.K. and Europe and builds upon our extensive experience and investments in the industrial sector across Canada,” says Michael Catford, vice president of real estate at HOOPP. “It will also be a meaningful step in expanding HOOPP’s real estate presence in Europe.”

Cushman & Wakefield Corporate Finance advised HOOPP, while Verdion was represented by de Morgan & Company and Lakestar Capital.