CEE-focused real estate investment manager Adventum has sealed its largest purchase so far by agreeing to acquire a Tesco-anchored retail park chain across Hungary and the Czech Republic for €280 mln.
The acquisition is earmarked for Adventum’s fifth fund, Adventum Penta, and follows the purchase in March of the Sky Tower office and mixed-use complex in Wroclaw for €85 mln.
The retail park chain has a combined area of 360,000 m2, which when added to Adventum’s portfolio will bring its total assets under management in the CEE region up to 700,000 m2 with a total value of €1 bn.
A consortium of OTP Bank Nyrt and Erste Group is providing a €150 mln facility to finance the acquisition of the retail portfolio. The EBRD has also recently invested €50 mln in the Adventum Penta fund, which has now commitments of €240 mln.
'The pandemic has accelerated some of the trends in the way people carry out their shopping. The share of online sales in Europe is expected to increase from 18% in 2020 to almost 25% in 2025,' said Gergely Koós-Hutás, a partner and senior portfolio manager of Adventum Group.
'However, retail parks have proven their resilience during the pandemic and are expected to play a pivotal role in the future as they are seen as a hybrid operation providing in-store retailing with last-mile delivery fulfilment options. With this in mind, our business plan foresees strengthening the already strong cash flow profile of the portfolio, which is secured over a well-diversified pool of 900 tenants.
'In addition, we intend to significantly enhance the ESG profile of the assets by reducing and diversifying their energy consumption and ultimately obtaining environmental accreditation. This will help us to create a portfolio that appeals to a wide range of institutional investors,' he added.
Deloitte assisted Adventum Group during the transaction by providing structuring, legal, financial and tax due diligence services. Hümpfner, Eross & Associates advised on corporate legal matters, while Eston and Savills supported Adventum Group in the commercial brokerage and underwriting, and CBRE for the ESG and technical due diligence. The banks were advised by CMS on legal matters.
