Alternative asset manager, Tikehau Capital has acquired an off-market Italy supermarket portfolio in a sale and leaseback transaction for €37 million.
The supermarkets are along the Italian Tuscan coast. They are in tourist towns, Castiglione della Pescaia, Forte dei Marmi, Venturina Terme, Orbetello and also San Vincenzo.
Most of the portfolio has been built or heavily refurbished over the last 10 years. It primarily consists of stand-alone assets below 2,500 square meters, providing a resilient layout and format.
Off-market Italy supermarket portfolio sale and leaseback
The transaction was structured as a sale and leaseback from established grocery operator Unicoop Tirreno. It is a co-operative brand of the Italian large-scale retail trade (Coop) and market leader on the Tuscan coast.
The new agreement is a triple net lease with a 24-year term adjusted against inflation. Pradera Management Italy originated the deal and assisted Tikehau Capital in the transaction.
The investment has been carried out through an Italian fund managed by Investire. Unicoop Tirreno will continue to manage the supermarkets, and will make no changes at commercial, social and also employee level.
For the Tuscan Cooperative, the transaction represents a strengthening of its financial position. It is also a chance to develop new openings and extend its influence.
Tikehau Capital was assisted by Greenberg Traurig Santa Maria, Pirola Pennuto Zei e Associati, CBRE and also Yard REEAS.
Edoardo Crotta, Executive Director Real Estate at Tikehau Capital, says,”We are very pleased with this acquisition, which consists of mission-critical assets for the Unicoop Tirreno distribution back-bone, located across key tourist hubs and providing trading performances well in excess of the Italian average. We believe in having exposure to high-quality daily needs-based real estate retail, which has proven to be a stable and defensive asset class with a positive growth outlook in the long term”.
Frédéric Jariel, Co-head of Real Estate at Tikehau Capital, says, “Our ability to source and execute off-market transactions in a difficult environment demonstrates the global reach and depth of our relationships. We look forward to further enhancing these properties, especially from an ESG perspective, with the goal of making these assets even more attractive to end users.”
The image taken by Monica Arellano-Ongpin is from Wikimedia and is reproduced under CreativeCommons.
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