Benoît Léger: Still live from MIPIM 2026, I’m delighted to welcome Aymeric Canivenc, Co-Head of Real Estate at Mileway. Aymeric, hello.

Aymeric Canivenc: Hello, thank you for having me.

Benoît Léger: Thank you for joining us on this set during MIPIM. You were appointed Co-Head of Real Estate at Mileway on January 1st. What is your roadmap today?

Aymeric Canivenc: Thank you for inviting me to talk about this roadmap. After three years as Country Director for France, where I was responsible for all Mileway’s activities in the country, I was appointed Co-Head of Real Estate on 1 January. My roadmap primarily focuses on further strengthening our position as a leader in last-mile logistics across Europe.  

We are established in eight European markets across continental Europe. And so, indeed, we face very different geostrategic conditions in each of these countries, but we will continue to build and strengthen our presence in this market, starting with operational excellence, which is at the heart of our asset management business, whilst also creating value for our clients on a daily basis across our entire territorial network. So that is really my roadmap: above all, to strengthen this partnership with our international clients and to enable them to have last-mile logistics facilities across the whole of continental Europe close to the major urban centers that we currently cover.

Benoît Léger: You mentioned your portfolio. What are your current investment targets and preferred geographies at this stage?

Aymeric Canivenc: Today, we already have a large-scale portfolio across continental Europe. 

Benoît Léger: 1,600 assets, correct? 

Aymeric Canivenc: 1,600 assets indeed, representing 14 million square meters across 10 countries, from the UK and Ireland to eight continental European countries, mainly in Western Europe, including the Nordics. In terms of our investment strategy, I won’t go into specific details about what we plan to do this year. However, it is clear that we will continue to deploy capital and also recycle capital through Blackstone’s opportunistic funds, as we are a Blackstone portfolio company. This is one of our key strategic priorities. Within our development activity, our focus is on further strengthening our presence in markets where we are already established. We are not planning to enter new markets this year, but rather to focus on those where urbanization, economic activity—whether commercial or industrial—and e-commerce growth continue to drive demand. We strongly believe there is a genuine structural demand for last-mile logistics assets, and our role is to provide solutions to meet that demand. 

Benoît Léger: In France, you signed several projects in 2025, notably in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. What are your ambitions in the French market?

Aymeric Canivenc: France is one of Mileway’s key markets, both in terms of existing assets and future developments. This is primarily because we see strong structural demand for this type of product. Whether driven by urbanization trends or population growth, these factors explain why regions such as Nouvelle-Aquitaine are particularly attractive to us. But it is also about network density being present in locations where there is already a strong industrial or logistics base. Beyond the Paris region, we are therefore focusing on key regional markets such as Bordeaux, as well as major metropolitan areas like Lyon and Marseille, essentially all major urban centers where we can support our clients and contribute to local economic growth and dynamism.

Benoît Léger: Given the MIPIM context, I’d like to touch briefly on the broader environment. Is it currently favorable to your development?

Aymeric Canivenc: The current environment remains very favourable for our business today. It is indeed very positive to be operating in this sector because we are addressing a fundamental, structural need for our economies. There are several drivers. First, as cities become denser, as is the case across most European cities today, delivery needs have intensified, and therefore there is a growing need for space close to consumers. One of the drivers we are all familiar with is e-commerce, which has grown significantly, from around 9% in continental Europe in 2019 to approximately 15% in 2024. So, we clearly see the increasing need for last-mile logistics assets, further reinforced by consumer expectations for more frequent and faster deliveries. This means high-quality premises close to urban centres. At the same time, there is a clear imbalance between supply and demand, because when we acquire land to build and develop, as we do today, we find ourselves competing with other land uses and locations. So, this is something that we will need to build over time. In this macroeconomic context, despite some uncertainties, utilization levels remain strong, as our clients are reorganizing their supply chains and are looking for greater proximity and resilience in their distribution networks. We are also seeing other industrial players, particularly in the defense sector (ASD) positioning themselves, both in France and across Europe, with new ways of organizing their operations. As a result, the last-mile logistics segment, especially when located close to industrial zones, plays a very important role in supporting this development. And that’s where Mileway plays a vital role and has a key role to play. 

Benoît Léger: Aymeric, thank you very much for your insights.

Aymeric Canivenc: Thank you, and have a great MIPIM.

Benoît Léger: Thank you, and see you very soon for another live broadcast from MIPIM 2026.

 

Source: Business Immo