Nordic institutional investors have been swooping on commercial real estate in early January with several major transactions being put to bed in Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen, while in Ireland a mix of local and global players carried out three significant deals. Swedish property firm Balder and AMF as well as pension fund AP7 are behind the biggest acquisitions, which involved a €332 mln mixed portfolio of 12 assets in Sweden; a €311 mln stake in the Urban Escape city quarter in Stockholm as well as the Tobaksmonopolet 2 office complex bought for €135 mln. In Denmark, local investor Cibus bought a portfolio of 31 grocery stores.

In Ireland, pharmaceutical firm MSD has agreed a deal to buy the WuXi Vaccines manufacturing facility in Dundalk for as much as €500 mln while Greystar completed the acquisition of Point Campus and the local housing group Clúid Housing acquired Project Olivia, a scheme with 328 apartments totalling 269,098 ft2 which fetched €160 mln.

In the assets on the market section, the Lambeth London Borough Council has just launched its first portfolio development opportunity for six development sites across the borough, aiming to deliver up to 450 new mixed-tenure homes. The Council is seeking a single development partner to develop all six sites with a gross development value of £250 mln. Montagu Evans is advising on the process. The deadline for submission of initial tenders is 22 April 2025, with the preferred partner expected to be chosen by November 2025.

Landlords were also active securing a number of big ticket loans this week. Kai Yuan Holdings Limited, the Chinese investment holding that bought the Paris Marriott Champs-Élysées hotel from ADIA back in 2014 for €344 mln, was able to secure a €175 mln refinancing for the asset from the same pool of lenders, a Société Générale-led consortium. In Brussels, developer Ghelamco secured a €112 mln facility from Värde Partners for The Wings, a newly developed office and hotel property while another US investment firm, BGO, was behind the €107 mln loan provided to support the construction by Platform of a 451-home build-to-rent scheme in Leeds, UK.

‘We are pleased to work with Ghelamco on a financing solution for this innovative, well-located property poised to capture demand for premium office space and convenient lodging. This deal is an example of our ability to source and deliver reliable financing for strong sponsors backed by high-quality assets across Europe,’ said Anthony Iannazzo, partner at Värde.

In the funds section, the National Pension Service of Korea has made its UK single-family rental debut with a £300 mln commitment to a vehicle managed by Long Harbour. The investment will allow the developer to provide more than 5,000 homes across the UK.

 

Recently completed deals       
Asset Asset type Location Buyer Vendor Size Price (mln) Key facts
vaccines plant at Dundalk Science and Technology Park alternative Dundalk, Ireland MSD Wuxi 167,055 ft2 €500 Wuxi invested €200m in 2019 to build the plant, which employs 200 people.
portfolio of 12 assets mixed Sweden Balder Doxa 12 assets €332 (SEK 3800) The properties are located in Malmö, Landskrona and Gothenburg.
16.6% of shares in Urban Escape mixed Stockholm AP7 AMF 135,000 m2 €311 (SEK3570) The deal involves the Urban Escape city quarter, which includes the shopping centre Gallerian.
49% stake in Alcapredial retail Portugal Leadcrest Groupement Les Mousquetaires 260 stores €250 The firm owns over 260 points of sale (supermarkets, DIY stores, car repairs shops, etc.) in Portugal.
15% stake in Westfield Forum des Halles retail Paris CDC Investissement Immobilier URW 77,600 m2 €235 Going forward, the asset will be owned by a joint venture between URW (50%), AXA IM Alts acting on behalf of clients (35%) and CDC (15%).
65% stake in the Skyline portfolio mixed Greece Premia Properties REIC, Dimand and the EBRD Alpha Bank 460 assets €163 The seller, Alpha Bank, is maintaining the remaining 35%.
Tobaksmonopolet 2 office Stockholm AMF CBRE IM 18,600 m2 €135 (SEK 1545) Tobaksmonopolet 2 is a historical landmark on Södermalm in Stockholm.
Olivia project living Dublin Clúid Housing ESR Europe 270,000 ft2 £134 (€160) Project Olivia is an investment held by ESR Europe Active Real Estate Fund IV, a discretionary value-add fund series.
Point Campus living Dublin Greystar DWS 966 beds €150 The accommodation will be managed by Canvas.
Redhill Data Centre alternative London Castleforge and Galaxy Data Centers NA 11,800 m2 £100 (€120) The operation involves an asset with a development value of over £100 mln and marks Castleforge’s entry into the data centre sector.
portfolio of 31 grocery store assets retail Denmark Cibus ATP Ejendomme 36,200 m2 €118 (DKK 879) The acquisition is structured as three separate transactions.
Aragó 330-332, Fab9, Dresden asset mixed Barcelona, Helsinki and Dresden NA KanAm NA €100+ The assets were owned by KanAm’s Leading Cities Invest fund.
student living assets living Lisbon Stoneshield NA 600 beds €60 The assets are located near the city’s university campus.
10 Great Pulteney Street retail London Global Holdings Group Boohoo 47,094 ft2 £49.5 (€60) The asset houses the head office of fashion retailer Boohoo.
Essex PRS scheme living Chelmsford, UK Invesco Hopkins Homes 99 homes £40.6 (€48) The deal at Beaulieu in Chelmsford will see the development of 99 build-to-rent homes for Invesco Real Estate.
five retirement villages living UK NA Audley Group 550 properties £40 (€48) The sale and leaseback deal is the first one for the retirement village sector.
Grenseveien 78b office Oslo Malling Investment Management Entra 11,000 m2 €35 (NOK410) The sales price is 13.4 % above book value.
portfolio of 4 assets mixed Linköping, Sweden Emilshus Vasaparken/Centria 31,737 m2 €33 (SEK377) Two of the properties are located in Tornby, comprising retail and light industrial spaces, while the other two are grocery retail premises.
Old Park Lane residence The Mulliner living London NA Fairway Capital 5,222 ft2 £26.25 (€31) It is the latest in a £120 mln string of resi sales by Fairway.
former Ibis hotel at The Bromley Mall hotel Bromley, UK Travelodge NA 59 rooms NA Travelodge will begin refitting the 59-room hotel this month, with a target of opening the hotel for business by Easter 2025.
Patio mixed Stuttgart DIBAG Industriebau AG Signa 7,000 m2 NA The asset will be redevelped into offices and retail space.
Kamilliehuset living Greater Copenhagen PenSam Heimstaden Bostad 145 resi units NA PenSam is a pension company that provides services to FOA’s professional groups, covering 500,000 predominantly public-sector employees.
Doppio Offices office Vienna NA Union Investment 8,000 m2 NA The building was owned by the immofonds 1 open-ended mutual property fund.

 

Assets on the market       
Asset Asset type Location Vendor Size Price (mln) Broker Key facts
1 Kingdon St office London CC Land 265,000 ft2 £275 (€328) NA British Land and GIC have entered talks with the owner to buy the asset, which is Vodafone’s Paddington headquarters.
450 new mixed-tenure homes living London Lambeth Council 450 homes £250 (€298) Montagu Evans The deadline for submission of initial tenders is 22 April 2025, with the preferred partner expected to be chosen by November 2025.

 

Recently completed loans    
Lender(s) Borrower(s) Asset(s) Loan Size (mln) Key facts
Société Générale-led consortium Kai Yuan Holdings Limited Paris Marriott Champs-Élysées hotel €175 The asset was bought in 2014 from ADIA for €344 mln.
Värde Partners Ghelamco The Wings in Brussels €112 The asset is a newly developed office and hotel property in Brussels, Belgium.
BGO Platform_ Leeds BTR scheme £90 (€107) The loan will support the construction of a 451-home build-to-rent scheme in Leeds.
Sparkasse Hannover Instone Real Estate Unsecured €100 The facility has a term of three years and replaces a credit line which expired in December 2024.
OakNorth and REL Finance JMK St Clement Lane asset in London £16.6 The loan finances the acquisition of a five-storey Grade II listed office block and the conversion into a 185-key hotel.
Erste Bank Austria Flexiparks Flexiparks Wien Nord I NA The facility refinances the fully leased Flexiparks Wien Nord I and funds the planned expansion for Wien Nord II.

 

Funds on the market   
Firm Fund Strategy Details
Long Harbour Long Harbour single-family housing fund Investing in single family homes in the UK The fund has secured a £300 mln seed investment from South Korea’s National Pension Service.
      With the investment, the developer will provide more than 5,000 homes across the UK.

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