Principal Asset Management’s French real estate platform has made its fourth US acquisition with the purchase of a retail property in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Principal Inside SCPI, a French retail fund designed to give individual investors exposure to international commercial property across Europe and the US, acquired the fully leased 86,620sqft strip retail asset at 8813 JW Clay Boulevard for $12.4m (€14.1m), expanding the vehicle’s footprint into the retail sector.
The asset is currently held within a dedicated Principal Group vehicle, allowing Principal Inside to secure US properties prior to capital raising before taking full ownership as fundraising continues.
To support this structure, Principal Group has provided the fund with a $30m credit line to acquire US assets ahead of their integration into the main portfolio.
Guillaume Masset, president of Principal Asset Management France, said: “Charlotte’s retail market continues to benefit from strong demographic and economic fundamentals. Vacancy rates remain low, rental growth outperforms national averages, and new retail supply remains limited, supporting tenant demand both citywide and within the Northeast Charlotte submarket where the asset is located.
“This is our fourth US property and the fifth asset in the portfolio. It represents a new sector exposure for SCPI, namely retail, and enables us to further implement the diversification strategy we are pursuing.”
To read the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
