(Bloomberg) -- Dream Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust has won an auction to buy the assets in a European warehouse fund for 880 million euros ($1.1 billion), according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Canadian REIT’s offer was selected by seller Clarion Partners Europe ahead of rival bids ranging from 850 million euros to 900 million euros, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. The company’s ability to execute the deal quickly was a factor in beating out higher offers, the people said. The deal has not yet completed and there’s still a chance that it could collapse, they added.

A spokesman for Clarion Partners, which is owned by Franklin Resources Inc., declined to comment. A representative for Dream Industrial did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of normal office hours.

Europe’s warehouse market is red hot as retailers rush for space to service the boom in ecommerce that’s accelerated during lockdowns designed to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Across Europe, companies rented a record 345 million square feet of warehouse space last year, 14% higher than 2019, data compiled by broker Cushman & Wakefield Plc show.

Read more: London Tops Hong Kong For World’s Priciest Warehouse Space

That’s causing bidding wars for properties as investors bet rents will continue to rise. Clarion’s portfolio had been expected to sell for more than 800 million euros when it was first put on sale in January, according to a report by Property EU.

The deal includes 31 properties in six countries including France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, the people said. Vacancy rates across European warehouses reached a record low 5.3% at the end of 2020, according to research published by Savills Plc.

That will support average rental growth for the best big warehouses in Europe of 1.9% per year through 2024, according to a report published by broker CBRE Group Inc.

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