SWITZERLAND
AEVIS VICTORIA SA has bought eight Swiss hotels from Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund Hospitality.
The Mont Cervin and Petit Cervin Swiss hotels buildings in Zermatt, the InterContinental building in Davos and other hotel properties will add to the existing portfolio of its subsidiary Swiss Hotel Properties SA on 1 January 2020, bringing its value to nearly CHF 500 million.
AEVIS VICTORIA now controls the operations and the real estate of the Seiler hotels in Zermatt, reuniting those Swiss hotels which had been separated in 2011 and allowing for a better planning of long-term development and investments.
The group also takes over the rights on the trademarks « Seiler Hotels », « Mont Cervin » and « Petit Cervin », which were transferred to CS REF Hospitality when the buildings were sold.
Discounted purchase price of Swiss hotels
The purchase price of the Swiss hotels was set at a slight discount from the market value as at 31 December 2018.
As part of this transaction, AEVIS VICTORIA is also acquiring the operating company Weriwald AG, which manages the InterContinental Hotel in Davos.
The eight Swiss hotels have 640 rooms and 70,957 square meters of surface area.
These Swiss hotels will be included in the portfolio of Swiss Hotel Properties SA, its subsidiary dedicated to hotel infrastructures. After integrating these assets on 1 January 2020, the buildings in the portfolio, located on seven sites, will total 111,127 square meters and 896 rooms.
The total valuation will approach CHF 500 million with rental income of more than CHF 20 million. Real estate management is essential for AEVIS VICTORIA, in order to allow for coherent investment planning, particularly in the hotel segment.
AEVIS VICTORIA also acquired Weriwald AG, which operates the InterContinental Hotel in Davos. This company will be integrated into Victoria-Jungfrau AG, the operating company of the AEVIS VICTORIA hotel segment.
With this acquisition and the integration of the Seiler hotels, Victoria-Jungfrau AG increases its number of Swiss hotels to seven. With this scope, it will achieve annual revenues of more than CHF 135 million in 2020. All Victoria-Jungfrau AG hotels have been managed by Michel Reybier Hospitality under a management contract since 2016. This contract has been extended for the use of the « La Réserve » brand in Zurich.
The image is from Wikimedia and is by SellerHotels.
Source: https://www.aevis.com/en/publications/2019/11/development-of-the-hotel-segment/
10-building Tucherpark, Munich bought
GERMANY
Commerz Real and developer Hines has acquired the 10-building Münchner Tucherpark from Hypovereinsbank.
They have acquired the 10-building “Am Tucherpark” quarter in Munich Schwabing from Hypovereinsbank for the open-ended property fund Hausinvest. The purchase price has not been disclosed.
Andreas Muschter, Chairman of the Board of Commerz Real, says, “Just under 15 hectares with great development potential, and that in the city center of Munich – a unique opportunity for our investors.”
Currently, the mixed-use area known as HVB Campus at the English Garden consists of around 148,000 square meters of gross floor space.
These are spread across seven 99,000-square-meter office buildings, a five-star 484-room Hilton hotel spanning some 36,000 square meters, a 10,000-square-meter data center and a 2,300-square-meter sports complex. The real estate was built between the 1960s and 80s, with most buildings renovated since 2018. In addition, around 1,500 parking spaces are available.
For the time being, Hypovereinsbank will remain the tenant of the office buildings it uses and the sports grounds of its club “Am Tucherpark”, which will ensure a stable cash flow for Hausinvest.
The Commerz Real and Hines want to further develop the quarter and open it up. In addition to conversions and modernization, recondensation measures are also planned, while preserving the preservation order and the architectural conditions.
Alexander Möll, Managing Director of Hines Germany, says, “Although we are still at the very beginning with our plans. But our goal is also to create subsidized and therefore affordable housing and thus to contribute to relieving the tense housing market in Munich.”
Hines and Commerz Real were supported in the transaction by P + P Pöllath + Partners (law), PWC (tax), REC Real Estate Consultancy Partners (technology) and HK Law. UniCredit was assisted in the sale of Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Dutch logistics portfolio is 100% leased
THE NETHERLANDS
Europa Capital, the pan-European real estate investment manager, has completed the acquisition of a portfolio of five logistics properties in the Netherlands from Altera Vastgoed.
The acquisition is on behalf of its core diversified income strategy, which is seeded with capital from Europa Capital’s principal shareholder, Mitsubishi Estate.
The 78,100 square meters portfolio is 100% let and leased to six tenants at rents below the market tone.
The five assets are located along the Netherlands’ key distribution corridor between the port of Rotterdam and the German border at Venlo. The new assets complement the strategy’s three existing logistics properties in Tilburg, Oss and Eindhoven to create a platform totalling 160,000 square meters in the Netherlands and valued at over €120 million.
The core diversified income portfolio, with a value of over €265 million, includes fully let office assets in Paris and Munich and generates a total gross rent of almost €14.25 million.
Investment strategy
The near-term focus of the investment strategy is further logistics and residential acquisitions. The aim is to attract institutional investors from Europe, Asia and the Americas to grow the vehicle to over €2 billion in the coming years.
Andy Watson, Partner and Fund Manager at Europa Capital, says. “This portfolio is in line with our focus on acquiring core properties in liquid western European markets. With the Dutch economy remaining in robust health and seeing rapid growth in both e-commerce and logistics demand, we see an opportunity to use our asset management expertise to grow this income over the short to medium term.”
James Farmer, Transactions Director at Europa Capital, explains, “Twelve months ago we set out to create a Dutch logistics platform of over €100 million for this vehicle. Having successfully aggregated assets for this platform, the strategy now owns properties in almost all the key logistics locations across the Netherlands.”
Europa Capital was advised by ARC Real Estate Partners. Cushman & Wakefield and JLL acted on behalf of the vendor.
Source: https://www.europacapital.com/news/press-releases/2019/02-12-19
£43 million student accommodation deal closed in Wales
UK
University Partnerships Programme (UPP), a provider of on-campus residential and academic accommodation infrastructure, has closed a deal worth £43 million for student accommodation in Wales.
The freehold deal, made with St Modwen Developments, Swansea University and Swan Global LLP, is for 411 rooms at Bay Campus, Swansea. UPP will deliver a full facilities management service.
The deal takes the number of rooms operated by UPP on the Bay Campus to 2,432 and boosts UPP’s portfolio of over 35,000 rooms in operation or under construction through long-term partnerships with 15 leading UK universities.
It comes on the back of a circa £98 million transaction between St Modwen Developments, Swansea University and UPP in February 2018, where UPP acquired two companies from St Modwen Properties PLC to operate 2,021 study bedrooms on the University’s Bay Campus, as well as acquiring a freehold property interest in further accommodation
This latest acquisition includes £38.7 million of index-linked debt financing from Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), with a debt tenor of circa 45 years. UPP Group Holdings Limited and its Shareholders will invest £4.7 million of subordinated debt and equity.
10-year agreement
Swan Global Education LLP is a joint venture between Swansea University and Navitas, an international pathway course provider, which has underwritten 100% of the rental and utilities costs on the 411 rooms for the first 10 years.
Navitas will source international students to undertake pathway courses of varying lengths at the purpose-built college facility on the Bay Campus and residential accommodation will be provided via the 411 student residences. Upon conclusion of the initial 10-year agreement, a further arrangement with Navitas could be negotiated – otherwise the accommodation is set to revert to a traditional offering to higher education students through the university.
UPP has been delivering facilities management services to the 411-room scheme for St. Modwen through its subsidiary, UPP Residential Services Limited, since the college opened in February 2019.
Strength of partnership
Richard Bienfait, Chief Executive Officer at UPP, says, “This latest transaction is testament to the strength of our long-term partnership with Swansea University. Through the partnership, first formed in 2018, we are helping to support and facilitate the University’s ambitious plans and long-term vision to enhance its position as a world-class educational establishment for the benefit of students, staff and the local community for generations to come.”
Andrew Rhodes, Swansea University’s Registrar and Chief Operating Officer, explains, “Swansea University is committed to providing first-class learning, living and social facilities so that we can offer a truly transformational campus student experience combined with a global outlook. Our long-term partnership with UPP continues to provide high-quality accommodation for our students.”
Alex Campbell, Investment Director at Aberdeen Standard Investments, adds, “We are pleased to partner with UPP to finance this project and to support Swansea University’s ongoing success. The investment provides index-linked cashflows, which are attractive to the participating insurance and pension funds and can help to match their long-term liabilities.”
The image of part of the Bay site is from Wikimedia and is by Swanseauni.
Source: https://www.upp-ltd.com/upp-announces-financial-close-on-new-43m-deal/
Nine logistic properties bought in Rotterdam
THE NETHERLANDS
Real I.S. AG has acquired the Logchain portfolio of nine logistics properties in Rotterdam from DHG.
The portfolio comprises over 100,000 square metres of logistics space. The properties are located in Europoort Rotterdam and are primarily let to Estron and P&O Ferrymasters.
The new acquisitions will be integrated into the Real I.S. BG VIII Europa open-ended special AIF for institutional investors and the new REALISINVEST EUROPA open-ended real estate AIF for private investors.
This marks the second acquisition for REALISINVEST EUROPA within recent days, following the addition of an office building in Amsterdam to the fund’s seed portfolio. The fund is set to be marketed to private investors in Germany in early 2020.
Axel Schulz, Global Head of Investment Management at Real I.S. AG., says, “Rotterdam is Europe’s gateway to the world. The port of Rotterdam plays a major role in moving goods between the European mainland and Great Britain and America, which is one of the reasons demand for logistics space close to the port is so strong. With the acquisition of the Logchain portfolio, we have secured nine attractive and modern logistics facilities, all of which are fully let on long-term leases.
Melanie Grüneke, Head of Country Netherlands at Real I.S. AG, explains, “The Maasvlakte Container Terminal has recently been expanded to accommodate the world’s largest container ships, thereby securing Rotterdam’s strong position in global goods traffic for the long term. As a result, logistics space in the region will be even more sought after than ever before.”
The Logchain portfolio is located at the dock for freight and ferry vessels to and from Hull, Great Britain. The entire Rotterdam area can also be reached quickly via the A15 motorway.
Second acquisition
The Logchain portfolio marks Real I.S. AG’s second acquisition for the new REALISINVEST EUROPA open-ended real estate fund for private investors in Germany. The fund was launched in Q3 2019 and is due to go public with a seed portfolio of around three to four properties with an investment volume of €200 million in Q1 2020.
The domestic AIF will invest in core and core plus commercial real estate in Europe, broadly diversified by type of use and location, supplemented by select investments in manage-to-core properties.
Real I.S. expects an annual distribution of 2-2.5% at fund level. In addition to Germany – not least due to Real I.S. AG’s local investment and market expertise – the Netherlands, France, Ireland and Spain have also been selected as potential investment markets for the fund’s portfolio.
Real I.S. BGV VIII Europe invests in core and core plus properties, supplemented by selected real estate with a manage-to-core strategy. The fund’s primary focus is on Germany and France, complemented by the Benelux countries and Spain, and is geared towards the office and retail real estate segments, with a secondary focus on mixed-use properties, logistics properties and hotels.
Real I.S. was advised by Houthoff and CBRE on the transaction. The seller was advised by Lorens & Loeff and TLF. Partner for long-term financing is BayernLB.
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