UBS Global Asset Management is planning the launch of a new EUR 300 to EUR 350 mln property fund targeting German and Austrian logistics real estate, Tilman Hickl, head of UBS Real Estate told PropertyEU in an interview at Expo Real.

The new spezialfonds will be the successor of UBS German Logistics Fund I, which was launched in 2004 and is currently fully invested. ‘We expect to have the fund up and running in the fourth quarter of the year,’ Hickl told PropertyEU. UBS is looking to raise up to EUR 180 mln of equity for the fund, which with leverage will translate into spending power of up to EUR 350 mln. The vehicle aims to return 7% cash on cash, he added.

Hickl also said the company is in exclusive talks to buy a large-scale scheme in Paris’ CBD for over EUR 110 mln for its new European Mega Core Property Fund. ‘We expect to close this acquisition by the fourth quarter and we are also in advanced negotiations on an asset in Brussels worth over EUR 60 mln.’

Last month UBS announced the first investment for the Mega Core fund which bought the Isar­tor City redevelopment project on Munich's Isartorplatz old town square. The 21,800 m2 office and retail scheme - formerly known as Rieger City - was purchased for a price of nearly EUR 100 mln. The European Mega Core Property Fund - which will be leveraged by a maximum of 40% - will initially focus on the safe-haven markets of Germany, Switzerland, France and Belgium, accounting for 50% of the total investment. The remaining funds will be ploughed into other markets such as the UK, Spain and Scandinavia.