BELGIUM
SCPI property investment company Foncia Pierre Gestion has acquired a hotel portfolio of three hotels in Belgium for a combined price of more than €57 million.
The hotel portfolio is made up of the 172-room Ramada Brussels Woluwe, the 73-room Ibis Mons Centre and the 108-room Lido Mons Centre. The price for the two four-star hotels and one three-star is the equivalent of €161,000 per room.
All in the hotel portfolio are near key governmental and business buildings, including the NATO Headquarters for the Brussels property and a major Google data centre complex in Mons.
The hotel portfolio is the first purchase by Foncia Pierre Gestion in the Belgian market.
Danielle François-Brazier, Chief Executive Officer of Foncia Pierre Gestion, says of the hotel portfolio, “This acquisition, the rate of return of which is 5.23% deed in hand with a firm 15-year lease, allows Foncia Pierre Gestion to strengthen the sustainability of the results of its SCPI.”
This 51% majority investment by Foncia Cap’Hebergimmo is acquired in joint possession with Foncia Pierre Rendement for 30% and Placement Pierre for 19%. This allows Foncia Pierre Gestion to increase the share of its hotel assets.
The geographic and sectoral diversification demonstrates a risk pooling strategy for its SCPIs.
By this choice, Foncia Pierre Gestion supports the strategy of Nehô-Group (one of the partners of the Management Company) which operates different brands (hotels under brands, hotels with regional dominance, hotels with national and international chains). The aim is to ensure the continued development in France and Europe with sustainable management of its establishments.
Nehô-Group which currently manages 22 establishments, is composed of management, engineering and investment. These three offers a unique offer in which this company is a builder, investor or promoter.
Off-market logistics purchase in Spain
SPAIN
Barings has completed the off-market acquisition of a quality logistics asset in Madrid, Spain, for €42.8 million on behalf of institutional investors.
The acquisition of the asset of around 48,000 square meters has been structured through a sale and lease-back agreement.
The tenant, one of the largest Iberian logistics group, which has occupied the asset for more than 17 years, will enter into a new 20-year Full Repairing and Insuring (FRI) lease.
Barings has also acquired a plot of land near one of the existing units, which is already zoned for logistics and could accommodate up to around 10,500 square meters of additional warehouse space to facilitate the tenant’s future growth.
Through this strategic partnership with Barings, the tenant will free up resources from its real estate division to invest in its fast-growing transport and logistic business that requires significant capex in order to maintain its competitive advantage in the market.
Situated 30 kilometers from the city centre, the portfolio, which also offers around 400 parking spaces, is near the M50 ring road and R2 toll highway. The asset is in a strong location for logistics not only due to its proximity to the most affluent areas of Madrid, but also for its easy connection to Madrid’s airport and the rest of Spain.
Growth of the logistics market
Adolfo Favieres, Managing Director, Real Estate Country Head Spain at Barings, says, “Favourable demographic drivers and rising e-commerce penetration continue to underpin the growth of the logistics market in Spain, a trend we expect to continue over the medium to long term. This portfolio is perfectly aligned to our core investment strategy, offering long and sustainable income from a good covenant, with a tenant that has heavily invested in these assets which are key to their operations in Spain.”
Gunther Deutsch, Managing Director, Head of Real Estate Transactions – Europe for Barings, adds, “After acquiring a speculative logistics development in Ontigola in 2019, this represents our fourth acquisition in Spanish logistics, of which three have been for our core strategy. We are very experienced in structuring sale and leaseback transactions with owner-occupiers which we have demonstrated already in Germany, Italy and now Spain. We continue to have a lot of appetite for single logistics asset transactions, as well as pan-European portfolios, in our focused markets of Finland, Sweden, Netherlands, UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain across the risk spectrum from core to opportunistic.”
Barings was advised by Arcadis, Dentons and Deloitte.
Logistics and industrial properties purchased
GERMANY
Investment specialist GARBE Industrial Real Estate has acquired another three logistics properties in northern Germany for its institutional German fund, “GARBE Logistikimmobilien Fonds Plus” (“GLIF+”).
The acquired distribution warehouses, which have a combined gross lettable area of more than 88,000 square metres, are almost fully occupied, and are in Bremerhaven, Neu Wulmstorf and Norderstedt.
The tenants are mainly logistics and retail companies. The weighted average lease term (WAULT) is around 3.5 years. It was agreed not to disclose the selling price.
The investment fund, initiated and managed by GARBE on behalf of institutional investors, acquired more than 540 million euros worth of “core+” type logistics real estate since 2016, and is therefore largely invested. Since its launch in 2016, the “GLIF+” fund has earned annual time-weighted returns (BVI method) in the double digits.
Christopher Garbe, Managing Director of GARBE Industrial Real Estate GmbH, says, “These three logistics assets, based in fast-growing macro-environments, perfectly complement the fund portfolio. As they bring the fund total up to more than €540 million, the GLIF+ is now largely invested. The two-digit performance of the fund also demonstrates that our approach as an integrated platform – meaning property, asset and fund management provided as a one-stop service – works amazingly well. Especially in the case of the GLIF+ fund, we achieved a sustainable performance increase by refurbishing, repositioning and re-letting assets. Encouraged by its great success, we are now preparing to launch a successor fund.”
Garbe was advised by CBRE during the transaction, while receiving legal counsel from the international business consulting firm of Evershed Sutherland.
The image is a stock picture and is not any of the buildings in the transactions.
Source: https://www.garbe-industrial.com/garbe-buys-three-logistics-properties-in-northern-germany/
Genesta acquires Filmstaden 23 office
SWEDEN
Independent real estate fund management company Genesta has acquired the Filmstaden 23 office in Solna, Stockholm on behalf of its GNRE Fund III from G.S.S Fastigheter AB.
The property is by the metro in the popular office sub-market Solna. Built in 1919/1920 and 2004, the property comprises four buildings mixing modern office space with the cultural heritage of the Swedish movie industry. The 9,400 square meter property is let to Filmstaden, Odeon Group and Universal Sony Pictures, among others.
Genesta Chief Executive Officer, David Neil, says, “We are excited by the opportunity to expand our presence in one of our key markets through the acquisition of such a unique property. The attractive location and the property’s potential suits our investment strategy perfectly.”
Genesta was advised by Roschier and PWC during the acquisition.
GNRE Fund III’s strategy is to provide institutional investors with exposure to value add office property investments in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Oslo. The fund also invests in retail and logistics properties in large metropolitan areas in the Nordic region.
Source: https://genesta.eu/news/genesta-acquires-filmstaden-23-stockholm
Stake in €1.8 billion retail portfolio
PORTUGAL & SPAIN
Allianz Real Estate has acquired a 25% stake in Sierra Prime, a retail portfolio of prime shopping centres across Portugal and Spain.
It was acting on behalf of several Allianz group insurance companies.
The new strategic joint venture combines sellers, Sonae Sierra and APG, who will each retain a 25% stake with the remaining share owned by Finnish pension insurance company Elo.
The deal is Allianz Real Estate’s first investment in Portugal and further complements the firm’s focus in the region.
Kari Pitkin, Head of Business Development, Allianz Real Estate, says, “This portfolio is comprised of the most-dominant shopping centres in Portugal and Spain. Portugal, in particular, is a very strong market for shopping centres due to the minor role of high street retail.
“This transaction offers Allianz Real Estate excellent, long-term diversification benefits at significant scale and underlines our strategic approach to expand selectively in alternative asset classes – best-in-class assets in terms of performance and location. In addition, we have a strong interest to further expand our footprint in one of Europe’s most dynamic real estate markets.”
The Sierra Prime portfolio has a very successful track record, attracting over 90 million visitors each year and its historical performance has been remarkable, even during economic crises. In addition, it holds a strong tenant base with full occupancy and it offers attractive growth opportunities through asset management.
Six prime retail shopping centres
The portfolio is composed of six prime retail shopping centres, with three in Greater Lisbon (Centro Colombo, Centro Vasco da Gama and CascaisShopping), two in Málaga (Plaza Mayor and Designer Outlet Málaga), and one in Greater Porto (NorteShopping). In total, it encompasses 1,150 units for a total Gross Leasable Area (GLA) of 380,000 square meters, with three of the assets currently undergoing expansion projects to be completed by 2023.
Day-to-day management of the portfolio will remain with Porto-headquartered Sonae Sierra, an investment, development and asset management firm with a global OMV of around €7 billion.
Jerome Berenz, Head of Indirect Investments, Allianz Real Estate, says, “The Sierra Prime portfolio underscores our commitment to working with prime partners, investors and stakeholders. We are delighted to build relationships with well-known and established stakeholders such as APG, Sonae Sierra and Elo who share our long-term, strategic approach and focus on prime assets.”
Here is another example of a European hotel portfolio deal
