ASR REIM launches EUR 1.1 bn Dutch retail fund

ASR Real Estate Investment Management (ASR REIM) is launching a seeded EUR 1.1 bn retail fund targeting global institutional investors. The portfolio comprises 210 prime Dutch retail assets including single high street units, district shopping centres and supermarkets covering a lettable area of over 300,000 m². Including a pipeline of secured investment opportunities totalling EUR 280 mln, the fund has the potential to grow to around EUR 1.4 bn.

Known as ASR Dutch Prime Retail Fund, the new investment vehicle is targeting annual dividends of 5% and an internal rate of return (IRR) of between 7%-9%, said Dick Gort, CEO at ASR REIM. ‘This is a unique portfolio built up over a period of more than 100 years on prime locations around the Netherlands. The assets are already in the fund and we have great plans for the future. What you see is what you get: bricks and mortar, a retail manager and strategy with a good spread of sub-segments.’

The assets in the ASR Dutch Prime Retail Fund are currently owned by ASR Nederland, the third largest insurer in the Netherlands. The developments and redevelopments in the pipeline are due to come on stream within the next four years.

Gort is aiming to place a first tranche of EUR 300 mln, primarily with large European investors in the next six months, with a second tranche expected in the course of 2012. ‘ASR will retain a minimum stake of 20% and we have no deadline as to when target must be reached.’

Institutional investors from outside Europe have also expressed interest, according to Marco Hekman, head of the Dutch branch of CB Richard Ellis which is acting as placement agent to the fund. ‘This fund ticks all the boxes in terms of what institutional investors are looking for. It has a low risk profile and a modern governance structure, good liquidity and cashflow and a specific sector and geographic focus. It is one of the few funds of its kind that have come to the market in the past 24 months.’

ASR REIM plans to bring additional Dutch funds to the institutional investment market from other real estate sectors, with a second specialist vehicle planned for 2012. In addition to retail, ASR REIM is also active in Dutch offices, housing and agricultural land, but Gort declined to say which sector was next on the agenda: ‘Our team has successfully managed a complex and diverse portfolio worth approximately EUR 4 bn for ASR Netherlands for many years and we look forward to generating similar returns for our new investors.’

Gort and Managing Director of Commercial Real Estate Bas Tiemstra will act as the board of the fund’s management company. Tiemstra will also lead the fund management team.