Warburg-HIH buys retail centres for open-ended special property fund

Warburg-HIH Invest Real Estate has bought a portfolio of five local convenience centres in Germany from Rockspring Property Investment Managers for around €100m.

The manager said it bought the assets, with a gross lettable area of around 43,000sqm, for its open-ended special property fund known as Perspektive Einzelhandel: Fokus Nahversorgung investment fund.

The properties, which are located in Herten, Bürstadte, Sinzheim, Reppenstedt and Lehrte, are fully let.  

Hans-Joachim Lehmann, a managing director in charge of transaction management for Warburg-HIH Invest’s German business, said: “With the transaction, we managed to secure a sound portfolio of highly profitable properties in German growth regions.

“We continue to pursue our retail strategy and are bolstering the position of Warburg-HIH Invest as leading provider or investments in Germany retail warehouse parks.”

Stuart Reid, a senior director of Rockspring, said: “Following the completion of a number of asset management activities and lease extensions and considering the relative high weighting of the fund towards retail we are pleased to have exited the portfolio at an opportune time in the market to a long term investor of the quality of Warburg-HIH Invest.”

Rockspring sold the properties on behalf of their PanEuropean open-ended vehicle.

Alexander Eggert, a managing director at Warburg-HIH Invest in charge of the fund management and product management units, said: “The acquisition of this portfolio is helping us consolidate the fund’s performance in the best interest of our investors.”

Warburg-HIH’s open-ended special property fund invests in local convenience centres in West German growth regions, targeting single asset values of €10m to €40m. The intended investment volume will total between €400m and €450m.

The fund has a lifetime of 15 years, plus an extension option.

“With the number of properties now already up to ten and the investment total at approximately €200m, we have cleared the half-way mark well ahead of schedule and ensured an amazingly fast capital drawdown for our investors in addition to stable returns,” Eggert said.