Aberdeen Standard Investments' Aberdeen European balance property fund has made its largest acquisition to date, spending €98 mln on Torre Auditori, a multi-let office building in Barcelona, Spain.
The 22,899 m2 building consists of 10 floors above ground currently let to 21 tenants, and three below ground that can accommodate 263 car and 94 motorbike parking spaces. It was built in 2013 from designs by architect Oscar Tusquets.
According to Aberdeen Standard, the deal comes as the fund passes the €1 bn assets under management (AUM) milestone. With a focus on retail, office, logistics and mixed-use properties in the Eurozone, the fund is an open-ended core type, designed for institutional investors.
'This is a good landmark to achieve. The fund is defensively positioned with a well-diversified portfolio, low leverage, minimal vacancies and long leases,' said Gert-Jan Kapiteyn (pictured), the fund's manager.
'The underpinning of the fund is an investment process that is rigorous in terms of judging each asset on its own merits while ensuring the fund is well diversified across sectors and countries,' Kapiteyn added.
The latest acquisition, which closed on June 14, is the fund’s first in Spain and will help further diversify the portfolio in terms of geography and type, Aberdeen Standard said. Barcelona has been identified by the business as one of Europe's 'winning cities'.
The European balance fund current has a broad base of over 50 investors across Europe, Asia and South America.
Abderdeen Standard also annoumced that its Aberdeen Standard European logistics income fund had acquired a freehold logistics warehouse in Heerenberg, the Netherlands, for €24 mln, providing an expected net initial yield of 5.0%.
The 23,000 m2 premises stand on a 45,000 m2 site, offering expansion opportunites in the future, Aberdeen Standard said. It it fully leased to third-party logistics operator JCL Logistics Benelux for a remaining term of 12.5 years.
