Ireland
Archer Hotel Capital has completed the acquisition of the 192-room Conrad Dublin for around €115 million.
The Conrad Dublin is located opposite the National Concert Hall just off the prestigious St Stephen’s Green in Dublin 2. The Conrad Dublin was comprehensively refurbished in 2017 and is operated by Hilton subject to a management agreement. Arthur Cox advised the purchaser on the transaction.
Dominic Seyrling, Director, Investments for Archer Hotel Capital, says, “We are delighted to conclude our first acquisition with this high-quality hotel which will fit well in the wider Archer portfolio. We are pleased to expand our relationship with Hilton International and add Dublin to our list of investment locations within Europe.”
Archer Hotel Capital is a specialist European hotel investment vehicle jointly owned by affiliates of APG Asset Management and GIC. Archer was established in December 2018 and owns one of the best quality hotel portfolios in Europe comprising 11 hotels with a gross asset value of circa €2bn and revenues of nearly €400m.
Archer is focused on acquiring institutional quality assets of scale in gateway cities across Europe and has equity commitments and a mandate to expand the existing portfolio.
The image of Conrad Dublin is taken by Joseph Mischyshyn. It is reproduced under Creative Commons.
Copenhagen retail and office property acquired
Denmark
CapMan Nordic Real Estate II Fund has acquired a retail and office property at Købmagergade 42 in Copenhagen.
It has a total leasable area of ca. 4,300 square meters and is within a short walking distance from Nørreport Station (500 meters) and Kgs Nytorv (600 meters).
Peter Gill, Investment Director at CapMan Real Estate, says, “We are very pleased with the acquisition of this unique property. As per our value-add strategy, our plan is to upgrade the property into modern high-street retail and office space.”
The property is the 16th acquisition of the €425 million Nordic Real Estate II fund raised in 2017. The focus of the fund is to invest mainly in office, retail and residential properties located in established submarkets of major Nordic cities. CapMan’s current real estate volume under management is over €2.5 billion.
CapMan is a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value creation. As one of the Nordic private equity pioneers, it has developed hundreds of companies and real estate assets and created substantial value in these businesses and assets over the past 30 years. CapMan employs 140 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, Moscow and Luxembourg.
Barings top €600m with Milan investments
Italy
Barings, one of the world’s largest diversified real estate investment managers, has acquired two prime logistics assets in Milan on behalf of an institutional investor.
The logistic centers are in Cavenago with around 66,100 square meters of space and in Cambiago with around 24,100 square metres. Both properties are fully let with long-term leases to an Italian-listed company.
Valeria Falcone, Managing Director, Real Estate Country Head Italy and Portfolio Manager at Barings, explains, “This transaction presented a rare opportunity to acquire two core assets in an off-market transaction for our investor.
Growing demand for logistics
“The assets are located a short distance from Milan city centre, in an undersupplied area with potential for rental uplifts and yield compression. The e-commerce sector is expanding rapidly in Italy, which is likely to generate a growing demand in the region for high-quality logistics assets such as these two properties.”
Gunther Deutsch, Managing Director, Head of Real Estate Transactions – Europe for Barings, adds, “This acquisition represents a milestone for Barings in Europe as it brings our logistics transactions total to over €600 million.
“We remain interested in expanding our logistics activity further in our target countries of Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, UK, France, Spain and Italy and we continue to look for properties in risk sectors from core to value add.”
Both assets provide direct and convenient access to the A4 (or E64) motorway, which is widely considered the most important Italian axis for logistics. The motorway runs East-West along the Mediterranean and the Alpine logistics corridors, which is a favourably short distance from Milan city centre.
Barings is a $335+ billion* global financial services firm. Through active asset management and direct origination, it provides innovative solutions and access to differentiated opportunities across public and private capital markets. Barings is a subsidiary of MassMutual, and maintains a strong global presence with business and investment professionals located across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
The image of the Milan skyline is from Wikimedia and is by Pexels.com.
Eurocentrum office complex acquired
Poland
CPI PROPERTY GROUP, the largest owner of income-generating real estate in the Czech Republic, Berlin and the CEE region, has acquired the Eurocentrum office complex in Warsaw, Poland.
Eurocentrum boasts over 85,100 square metres of gross lettable area and is located on Aleje Jerozolimskie (Jerusalem Avenue), in one of the most sought-after business districts close to the city center.
The property is LEED Platinum certified, and is the largest green certified office complex in Warsaw. Occupancy is nearly 100% with high-quality tenants such as Unilever, COTY, Group One, Randstad, SAGE, PSE S.A., and Urząd Transportu Kolejowego among others.
Tomas Salajka, Head of Acquisitions and Asset Management for CPIPG, says, “The acquisition of Eurocentrum further enhances the Group’s footprint in the Warsaw office market, and demonstrates the strong progress we are making on our acquisition pipeline.”
On 8 October 2019, CPIPG announced plans to invest more than €800 million in Warsaw offices during Q4 2019 and early Q1 2020. Since that time, the acquisitions of Equator IV and Eurocentrum have closed and preliminary purchase agreements have been signed for Green Corner A and Equator II. Discussions on several other significant assets are also in advanced stages.
Marcin Juszczyk, member of the management board, Capital Park Group, says, “For the last 12 years as owners of the project we created a totally new kind of real estate property which redefined the local submarket and now plays a dominant role in the Upper Jerozolimskie corridor.
“Eurocentrum Office Complex stands out in terms of design and quality. We are happy to pass the project into the right hands, and are confident the project will add a lot of value and generate profits for CPIPG going forward.”
Source: https://www.cpipg.com/uploads/529091f83e557dd28b4ff35fa76114b5f2a5bcfa.pdf
Two Bristol student buildings sold for £18.65m
UK
Two of Bristol’s most popular student accommodation buildings have been sold.
Sunway Residence has acquired Centre Gate and The Colston for £18.65million.
HBD developed both assets as part of a joint venture with The Markey Group.
Both Centre Gate and The Colston underwent significant refurbishment and renovation and are now among Bristol’s most successful student accommodation, being fully let every year.
Located at the heart of the city, both the 86-bed Centre Gate and 77-bed The Colston provide high-end space. Centre Gate’s luxury self-contained apartments boast high-spec interiors, while The Colston benefits from a contemporary design along with a large communal lounge.
Julian Painter, Director at HBD and head of its Bristol office, says, “Both prime assets, Centre Gate and The Colston were HBD’s first foray into the student accommodation market, which has proved very successful.
“Both have a solid trading history, are extremely well-located and are designed to the highest standards, so we’ve no doubt that they will continue to perform well.”
The sale of the two buildings does not affect the operating of Centre Gate or The Colston.
Along with its Bristol office, HBD also has offices in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Sheffield. It is working with a development pipeline of more than £1.6bn and boasts a diverse UK-wide portfolio, comprising big-brand retail, office spaces and logistics through to residential innovation and award-winning heritage projects.
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