An investment fund managed by Universal-Investment on behalf of pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK) has announced the acquisition of a portfolio of 12 retail parks and supermarkets in established locations across Germany.
The off-market transaction of an undisclosed amount was signed with an unknown Dutch real estate fund, advised by GSK Stockmann. The buyer was advised by German asset and property manager GPEP on the deal.
The portfolio provides 26,700 m2 of rental space across 48 units and is 95% leased to several food retail tenants such as Edeka and Rewe, Aldi and Lidl, with a weighted average lease term of 7.5 years.
The properties are located in Bavaria, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland Palatinate and Schleswig-Holstein. The supermarkets and retail parks located in the western part of Germany, with the focus on Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, account for 90% of the rental income.
'This purchase perfectly complements our existing portfoliowhile at the same time enhancing our diversification, both in terms of tenantmix and the geographic spread of the properties,' said Dagmar Schuster, head of transaction and investment management at GPEP.
Marcel Fuhr, managing director of GPEP, added: 'The acquisition of this portfolio demonstrates that the currentmarket environment still offers attractive investments in retail centres and retail parks.'
In early 2017, GPEP – together with Universal-Investment – launched a fund for supermarkets and retail parks on behalf of BVK. With the initial purchase of an off-market portfolio, GPEP already acquired 46 properties, having a total rental space of 115,000 m2, on behalf of the fund.
