Crossbay, the first pan-European logistics platform to focus on single-tenant distribution centres, has appointed a new head of asset management to oversee its rapidly growing portfolio.

Ben Ryan joins from Delin Property, where he was also head of asset management, responsible for a multi-national portfolio of ‘big box’ warehouses in Spain, the Netherlands and United Kingdom.

Prior to Delin Property, Ryan held senior asset management roles at both Praxis Real Estate and Topland Group plc, where he was responsible for a £2bn (€2.2bn) of properties, including commercial, industrial, leisure, hospitality and retail uses. He was also previously director in ING’s real estate investment management division.

Ben Ryan, head of asset management at Crossbay, said: “Since the pandemic, last mile logistics has become an increasingly competitive space, with a growing number of investors looking to enter a sector where it is difficult to amass scale thanks to the often fragmented and localised ownership of assets.

“Crossbay is at least two years ahead of the competition in assembling a genuinely pan-European portfolio, which is what attracted me to the platform, and I look forward to working with the wider team to help secure its market-leading position.”

Launched in May last year by leading private equity real estate investment manager MARK, Crossbay is designed to enable institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers to grow their exposure to the fast-growing last mile logistics sector.

The platform is led by Marco Riva, who joined from Blackstone portfolio company Logicor, which focuses on ‘big box’ warehouses.

Crossbay focuses specifically on single-user distribution centres in locations no more than a 90-minute journey to the centre of the nearest city. Single-tenant assets require less intensive asset management than multi-let industrial units and are less exposed to the performance of the wider economy than larger ‘big box’ warehouses.

The platform’s c.500,000 sq. m. portfolio hosts a high-profile tenant base, counting leading 3PLs such as FedEx and DHL, as well as major e-commerce brands like Amazon, as occupiers.

Crossbay recently announced a €400m debt facility with Citi to help fund its growth and expansion. This follows a successful capital-raise last year, in which Crossbay secured €550m in equity commitments from investors including the Townsend Group, CBRE GI, Credit Suisse, Nuveen and QInvest LLC.

Marco Riva, head of Crossbay and logistics at MARK, said: “Ben Ryan brings with him a wealth of asset management experience across a range of property types.

“His experience working in core European markets and with major logistics operators will prove particularly beneficial as we further build a truly pan-European portfolio of institutional-grade last mile assets. I look forward to working alongside him.”

In addition to Crossbay, MARK manages other platforms targeting residential, life sciences and digital real estate.