SAN ANTONIO, TX—USAA Real Estate Company ("Realco") says it has launched a European investment operations, to be based in Amsterdam. The company's initial activity will focus on providing capital for logistics development across the continent. 

As part of the investment program, the USAA has entered into a strategic development and investment venture with Mountpark Logistics, which is led by John Cutts, well known for past successes in the development and delivery of logistics portfolios on a Pan-European basis.

Heading Realco's European office is David Buck, who has served USAA Real Estate Company since 1996, most recently as executive managing director of the firm's Global Logistics Development.  Buck will be joined by Maximilian von Below who joins Realco from AM alpha GmbH in Munich where he had a variety of relevant responsibilities.  At Realco, he will take the lead role in European client relationship management, while working closely with Buck on investment opportunities. 

Wednesday's announcement is the latest in a series of strategic expansion moves by Realco, the real estate investment unit of USAA, a San Antonio-based financial services company established more than 90 years ago to provide insurance and other financial products to families of U.S. military personnel.  At one time focused primarily on investing member-provided capital, Realco's current total of $12 billion in assets under management includes substantial investment from global institutional clients.  In facilitating that growth, the company has successfully closed various investment vehicles and its portfolio includes all major property types across the United States.  

"Having been a part of Realco's expansion within the U.S. over the past 18 years, it is an absolute honor to have the opportunity to help lead our Pan-European expansion.  We are pleased to be announcing our venture with John and the entire Mountpark team, a team which has an enviable and proven reputation and track record in delivering successful and complex development projects throughout the UK and Europe." said Buck. "This is the first of what I am confident will prove to be many successful Realco ventures here in Europe."  

"We are very excited about our European investment program.  It is the result of more than a year of research and planning, and importantly, we are initiating our international expansion with a focus on one of our core competencies – logistics development.  We have been a leader in providing capital to U.S. developers for the last 20 years, and now I believe we can do the same in Europe." said USAA real estate company CEO Len O'Donnell.  "Our partnership with Mountpark will provide us the opportunity to move aggressively into their strategic markets, while David and Max continue to seek opportunities to expand the platform over time."

He added, "While Europe continues to lag the U.S. in the current recovery, we have a positive long-term view of the European economy and see significant opportunities over the next several years. Now is the ideal time for us to begin taking advantage of those still-emerging opportunities, applying our unique combination of financial strength, expertise and unquestioned integrity as an organization.  With David and Max at the forefront of our efforts, we look forward to establishing new, productive relationships throughout Europe as we grow there."