The majority sale of the 110,000 m2 Groot Handelsgebouw - the largest business centre in the Netherlands and an icon of post-war reconstruction in Rotterdam - has fallen through, with the unnamed buyer citing 'Brexit' when withdawing a €75 mln offer.
The Groot Handelsgebouw (Wholesale Building or Wholesale offices in English) is held in a closed-end, single-asset vehicle listed in Amsterdam. The company confirmed to PropertyEU that the potential buyer gave the UK referendum vote to leave the EU as one of the reasons for pulling out of the share transaction.
While the buyer apparently did not go into detail, this is one of the first examples of a large transaction - outside the UK - being pulled as a result of the referendum result. There may, however, be more Dutch deals falling victim under the radar to Brexit. A market source told PropertyEU another potential transaction stalled as a UK bidder sought an 8% discount on the price under negotiation due to Brexit.
The Groot Handelsgebouw organisation had signalled on 21 April that it was in talks to sell 82% of the shares and certificates in the closed-end vehicle. The existing shareholders were to be informed before 30 June about any offer, as long as it was at least €50 per share, reflecting a price of around €75 mln. Talks were ongoing with one potential buyer, but on 30 June the listed vehicle announced that the bidder had withdrawn saying that 'partly as a result of Brexit, there was no longer a prospect of a successful conclusion of the negotiations'.
The Groot Handelsgebouw, located next to Rotterdam Central Station, is a symbol of the post-war re-start of business in Rotterdam. The centre of the city was bombed on 14 May 1940 at the start of the German invasion of the Netherlands. Around 900 people died, 85,000 people were made homeless, and some 388,000 m2 of commercial space was destroyed.
Dutch architect Huig Maaskant drew inspiration from the Merchandise Market in Chicago, then the largest business centre in the world, when he began planning the Groot Handelsgebouw in 1944. The massive complex, 220 x 85 metres and a height of 43 metres, opened in 1953. The building was renovated in 2005 and is home to about 170 tenants equating to an occupancy rate of 77%.
