Around €1.3 bn of Bouwfonds Investment Management's parking and resi activities are being rebranded as Primevest Capital Partners after a management buy-out.
Bouwfonds IM, part of Dutch financial group Rabobank, said on Monday that it had sold all of its parking business and a part of its residential assets under a management buy-out backed by CommonWealth Investments, a Dutch multi-client family office.
Primevest is led by former Bouwfonds IM employees Bart Pierik (managing partner), Ruud Roosen (parking), Hans-Peter Renk (residential), Bas van Dongen (communication infrastructure) and former CFO of Foruminvest, Walter Kuppens (finance & risk).
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Also see, Bouwfonds IM sells off €4b portfolio in major shake-up
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It will focus on alternative and innovative real asset investment strategies with a focus on parking, communication infrastructure and affordable contemporary living. The acquired portfolio includes assets in 10 European countries and will continue to be managed by a team of 30 staff based in the cities of Utrecht, the Netherlands and Berlin, Germany.
Dedicated teams
'With the establishment of Primevest Capital Partners we are able to continue our high-quality investment management services with our dedicated specialised teams that our clients are accustomed to,' said managing partner Bart Pierik at Primevest Capital Partners. 'In recent years we have strengthened our leading position as car park investment manager, expanded our residential activities for key clients and launched a new fund in communication infrastructure, being the first investment manager to offer German institutional investors the opportunity to invest long term in passive communication infrastructure assets. We see a growing interest from institutional clients for our innovative real asset investment strategies to further grow our assets under management.'
'We believe that there is demand in the market for specialised investment managers with a focus on innovative distinctive investment strategies. The activities of Primevest Capital Partners match this demand and we have confidence that the management can successfully grow the existing activities of Primevest Capital Partners in the coming years,' added Leo Derksen, co-founder of CommonWealth Investments, which financially backed the transaction.
Other disposals
The disposal is part of the Rabo group's strategy to reduce the fund and asset management business and follows the disposal in November last year of a €1.6 bn department store portfolio in one of the largest real estate transactions ever in the Netherlands to an institutional consortium led by CBRE Global Investors (CBRE GI).
The long-running recapitalisation deal involved a portfolio of over 31 department stores across the Netherlands, including the iconic Bijenkorf stores in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, as well as Hema and former V&D stores.
In late 2017, Bouwfonds IM also transferred parts of its indirect interests in the CIF I communication and infrastructure company and the CAIW fibre infrastructure company.
‘We have now completed the disposal of important parts of our portfolio,' commented Jaap Gillis, CEO of Bouwfonds IM. 'During this successful operation, the interests of our customers, employees and parent company Rabobank were always our priority.'
Following the operation, Bouwfonds IM’s portfolio has been cut back to €2.1 bn, added Marnix Boessenkool, CFO of Bouwfonds IM. Bouwfonds IM will continue to manage the remaining activities with the existing management board consisting of Jaap Gillis, Marnix Boessenkool and Rudolf Thomeer.
