Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (Capreit), one of Canada's largest residential landlords, has acquired 19 rental properties in the Netherlands for €170.4 mln.
The 19 properties comprise 849 residential units located in nine cities and towns across the Netherlands, the company said on Friday. The vendor was not disclosed.
The purchase includes 128 single-family homes, 721 apartments and two commercial units. Around 29% of the assets are located in Amsterdam, 30% in Utrecht, 17% in The Hague, with the remaining 24% in five towns in the central and northern parts of the country. The properties are currently 97% occupied.
The purchase price of €170.4 mln will be financed with a new mortgage loan of around €100.8 mln with a weighted average term of approximately 7.5 years bearing a weighted average interest rate of 1.9%.
The acquisition boosts Capreit’s Dutch portfolio to 1,417 rental homes, all of which are located in the most populous centres in the country. Last year, the Canadian REIT acquired 103 housing units from Syntrus Achmea Real Estate & Finance and 465 multifamily homes and four commercial units in Utrecht from private investors.
‘We are very pleased with the contribution our initial Netherlands properties have made, and look for this significant increase in size and scale to make a strong and sustainable contribution to our performance going forward,’ commented Thomas Schwartz, CEO of Capreit.
Capreit carried out the latest deal together with its local joint venture partner Rubens Capital Partners, which will own a nominal interest in the portfolio and provide ongoing acquisition and asset management services. Closing of the transaction is expected around 12 July.
The Canadian firm said that with a portfolio of this scale, it will be looking to establish its own regional office in The Netherlands to manage the portfolio. A senior Capreit employee has been located in The Netherlands since April 2017 and will oversee the establishment and staffing of the new office.
Capreit describes itself as a 'growth-oriented investment trust' owning interests in 49,074 residential units and 6,452 land lease sites located in and near major urban centres across Canada and the Netherlands.
