CZECH REPUBLIC
Českomoravská Nemovitostní (ČMN), has bought two Prague office buildings for around €74million.
The Prague office buildings, CITY WEST C1 and C2 are in the Stodůlky district. They have been purchased from CFH, a Luxembourg-based financial holding, for about CZK 2 billion (€74million)
C1 and C2 are near the metro station and include more than 25,000 square meters of leasable space, which is a part of the CITY WEST office centre.
The Prague office buildings are close to the D5 motorway, the Prague Circuit and Prague Airport.
Radek Stacha, ČMN’s chairman of the board, says, “One of the reasons we have been interested in this project is that it perfectly fits into our strategy of investing into real estate with high-quality tenants.
“An important factor has also been the fact that both buildings are highly energy-efficient, with LEED Gold certificates.
“Exactly after a year, we managed to complete the planned acquisition of all three buildings from the Luxembourg-based fund CFH. After the acquisition of Crystal Prague-Vinohrady and Blox in Prague-Dejvice, we have now extended our portfolio by the headquarters of Vodafone and other major companies. The total value of the transaction with CFH exceeds almost CZK 6 billion.
“Despite some slowdown due to the Covid-19 crisis, we have managed to close the deal relatively quickly. The financing bank is Austrian Raiffeisenbank.”
Including the Prague office transaction, the portfolio administered by the ČMN real estate group totals more than 80,000 square meters. The group controls over 2% of the total office space in Prague.
Warsaw logistics property purchased
POLAND
Investor and operator of real estate in Europe and Asia-Pacific, Arrow Capital Partners, has acquired the prime urban logistics asset, Airport House, in Warsaw.
It has been bought for its $3 billion European Strategic Industrial Real Estate (SIRE) platform.
The seller is M7 Real Estate on behalf of PVBRI, a work-out investment vehicle created by M7 and a Polish Bank to stabilise and turn around a struggling portfolio of industrial, office and retail investments.
The 8,610 square meter property, which is fully let with a WAULT of 5.8 years, is next to Warsaw Chopin Airport and motorways connecting to Lodz, Wroclaw, Poznan and other cities. The main tenants include pharmaceutical company, Polski Bank Komórek Macierzystych, and home improvement retailers, Castorama and Kingfisher.
Invested over €300 million
Since launching last year, SIRE has invested over €300 million in acquisitions in the UK, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and now in Poland. It is also actively seeking investments in Ireland, the Nordics, Italy and Portugal as well as in Poland. It has over €200 million of capital to invest in Poland over the next 24 months in industrial and urban logistics property.
It is looking for single and multi-let industrial, distribution warehouses, ‘last touch’ logistics, and vacant assets with strong lease-up potential as well as land to facilitate a build-to-own strategy.
SIRE is investing in core plus industrial, logistics assets yielding more than 5%, vacant assets with strong lease-up potential, forward commitments and selective build-to-own strategies. Its focus is on urban infill locations across Europe’s major cities and strategic transport hubs that are benefitting from structural trends in urbanisation and e-commerce growth.
M7 acquired Airport House with 47% vacancy and a WAULT of 3.4 years in 2017 and during its management of the property, let the remaining space in the building. M7 has sold four assets spanning offices, retail and logistics across Warsaw, Poznan and Zgorzelec on behalf of PVBRI following the completion of the business plan for each asset. One asset remains in the vehicle.
More acquisitions to follow
Katherine Parker, Partner at Arrow Capital Partners, says, “The acquisition of Airport House is SIRE’s first in the Polish market with others to follow. It is an asset that is excellently located next to Chopin Airport, with high-quality tenants and continues our investment in the European urban logistics market.”
Christian Bearman, Partner, Head of Europe, Arrow Capital Partners, adds, “We have a broader range of types of acquisitions we can target with a longer-term investment horizon than most funds and have a flexible approach to the way we consider our investments.”
Katarzyna Parkot, Managing Director, Poland at M7, said: “Since establishing the PVBRI portfolio in 2017, we have demonstrated our ability to stabilise assets, add value through active asset management, find suitable buyers and generate attractive returns. Our team has overcome the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the sale is also evidence of continued investor appetite for logistics assets with diversified occupier mixes in attractive locations.”
Arrow was advised by Burlington Real Estate.
Source: https://www.m7re.eu/media/news/arrow-acquires-logistics-asset-in-poland-from-m7/
Fund acquires head office in Tallinn
ESTONIA
East Capital Real Estate IV has acquired SEB’s head office in central Tallinn from Partners Group and Northern Horizon in its first purchase.
The fund plans to invest €400-500 million in assets under management.
The 24-storey building, with a total leasable area of approximately 16,000 square meters, is located in Tallinn’s central business district and is one of the most iconic buildings in the city.
The entire building is fully leased to SEB, which has been there since the commissioning in 1999. The seller of the property is Laurus, a joint-venture collaboration between Partners Group and Northern Horizon. The transaction value amounts to €45.75 million.
Yield levels high
Madis Raidma, CEO at East Capital Real Estate, says, “Through the transaction, East Capital Real Estate IV acquires a well-known landmark in the center of Tallinn with one of the strongest companies in the market as a tenant. Our goal is to offer investors access to high-quality properties in the best locations around the Baltic Sea and eastern Central Europe.
“Rents in Tallinn have not had the upturn we have seen in recent years in the rest of Europe, and yield levels are therefore not only high but also sustainable. SEB’s head office is a strong addition to our portfolio in a region characterized by growth and stable demand for properties in central locations. We have a strong pipeline and aim to complete more acquisitions within East Capital Real Estate IV soon.”
The transaction is financed by Swedbank and the process was advised by Fort Legal on the buyer’s side and Cobalt on the seller’s side.
East Capital Real Estate IV was launched at the end of 2019 and is East Capital’s fourth real estate fund focusing primarily on office and logistics properties in the Baltics and Central Europe.
East Capital Real Estate manages four funds and one investment mandate, with a total property value of €470 million, across 25 properties with a lettable area of 398,000 square metres. It is part of independent asset management group, East Capital Group.
The image, from Wikipedia, is by Zairon and is reproduced under Creative Commons.
