Prologis, La Caisse Plan $1B Expansion in European Industrial Sector
By Mark Hallum April 9, 2026 3:58 pm
reprints
Two North American industrial landlords are planning a grand tour with $1.17 billion for investment opportunities.
Prologis, the world’s largest industrial landlord, and La Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, are targeting France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.K. for new acquisitions and development of logistics facilities, with the expectation that e-commerce and manufacturing trends will lean in their favor.
The investment vehicle was announced Thursday morning, despite the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war with Iran leaving uncertainty in supply chains traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. However, Prologis and La Caisse view the investment as long-term play that could outlive the conflict.
Even if the war rages on, the two companies see it as an opportunity for domestic industrial operations to flourish in the West.
“It’s not really about a short-term impact that we’re delivering here, but really long-term growth prospects and scalability,” Christina Forrest, managing director of European real estate at La Caisse, told Bloomberg, which first reported the news. “It’s not something that we would pull away from because of some uncertainties that are surrounding us at the moment.”
Prologis and La Caisse did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
If the U.S. market is any reflection of what is happening in Europe, new and improved industrial supply could possibly catch tailwinds fanned by occupiers, of which 90 percent in a survey conducted by CBRE said they plan to either maintain or expand their footprints in the next 36 months.
Some of the sectors driving a boost in industrial leasing in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2025 increased domestic investment in aerospace and defense, as the U.S. has pulled back from NATO commitments as well as the growth of independent mail carrier operators establishing outposts from China, according to a report from JLL.
Throughout fiscal year 2025, JLL estimated that there was 407 million square feet of supply in Europe, 16.2 million square feet under construction, a total vacancy of 6.2 percent, and 24.2 million square feet of leasing activity.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
