On 29 September 2025, Blackstone signed an agreement to acquire from Proudreed a logistics portfolio worth €2 billion, comprising 2.3 million square metres of predominantly urban warehouses in France’s main cities, along with land designated for new developments. The deal, reported by Bloomberg and not officially commented on by the parties involved, is the most significant logistics transaction in France this year and represents a decisive expansion of Blackstone’s footprint on the continent.
Proudreed, a French private foncière and part of the pan-European M Core group, manages a real estate portfolio worth over €3.2 billion, with 726 assets across France and an occupancy rate of 93%. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Paris, the company has pursued an integrated strategy by internalising all real estate activities, with a particular focus on business premises, which account for more than half of its portfolio.
Blackstone has been investing in the European logistics sector for over a decade, anticipating the growth of e-commerce and the demand for distribution space. Among the platforms it has created are Logicor, Mileway and Indurent, with Proxity, launched in 2025 and based in Frankfurt, adding more than 7 million square metres of lettable area to its portfolio. The acquisition of Proudreed fits squarely into this consolidation strategy and further strengthens Blackstone’s position as Europe’s leading private investor in logistics real estate.
The French market in 2025 shows selective resilience. In the first half of the year, 1.5 million square metres of logistics space were placed, with 42 deals above 10,000 square metres amounting to a total of 1.07 million, a 24.5% drop compared with 2024. Investment activity, however, remained dynamic at €1.4 billion in the half-year, up 17% year-on-year. Availability rose to more than 4.3 million square metres, with an average vacancy rate of 5.8%, while prime rental values reached record levels in Paris at around €85 per square metre per year.
The European landscape is increasingly concentrated: Prologis, GLP and Blackstone dominate the top tier, with combined AUM tripling over the past decade from €151 billion to €551 billion. The rivalry between Prologis and Blackstone plays out both competitively and through cross-transactions, such as Prologis’s acquisition in July 2025 of a former Blackstone portfolio worth $3.1 billion.
Looking ahead, long-term structural drivers continue to shape the sector: the growth of e-commerce, automation, shorter supply chains and ESG criteria. Demand is focused on modern and sustainable assets, with mounting risks of obsolescence for outdated stock. There remain opportunities for value-add strategies, with urban repositioning or redevelopment projects capable of delivering gross returns above 8% after capex.
