An institutional consortium led by CBRE Global Investors (CBRE GI) has taken control of a €1.6 bn department store portfolio in one of the largest real estate transactions ever in the Netherlands.
CBRE GI and the vendor, Dutch-based fund manager IEF Capital, confirmed to PropertyEU Research that the long-running recapitalisation deal has been finalised.
The portfolio consists 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. According to IEF Capital’s website in May 2017, the full portfolio was valued at €1.6 bn.
The CBRE GI-led consortium comprises three Dutch institutional investors and the CBRE Dutch Retail Fund.
The deal involves recapitalising the shares in IEF Capital Berlage Zuid B.V. and IEF Capital Berlage HB II B.V.
The structure, which remains unchanged, ultimately holds 31 entities owning 31 Dutch retail assets anchored by flagship stores and will be managed from now on by the CBRE Global Investors platform.
IEF Capital has managed the structure for 12 years and said it was pleased with the realised result for the exiting investors.
As a result of the recapitalisation, the four institutional investors will gain exposure to long-term sustainable and indexed income from assets located in prime urban locations in the Netherlands.
Sophie van Oosterom, chief investment officer EMEA, CBRE Global Investors said: 'We are delighted to have secured this opportunity for our clients. We believe our platform can create further value for this holding through our extensive pan-European retail expertise.'
CBRE GI had been in exclusive talks with vendor IEF Capital for at least six months.
PropertyEU Research first detected the transaction and it was confirmed by the buyer and seller.
This follows on from the Dutch markets authority ACM granting approval in June for CBRE GI to take control of IEF Capital Berlage Zuid and Capital Berlage HB II.
Sales process
PropertyEU reported in May this year that the portfolio had been put on the market 18 months earlier. However, the process was temporarily halted due to uncertainty surrounding the future of asset manager Bouwfonds and the subsequent collapse of department store chain V&D in early 2016.
Most of the vacant V&D stores have since found new tenants on long-term contracts including Canadian retailer Hudson’s Bay.
The bulk of the stores are located on prime high street locations in key cities across the country, but the portfolio also has significant development potential.
Rival bidders
Other bidders that were in the running for the portfolio before CBRE GI entered exclusivity, according to well-informed sources, include several Dutch retail specialists that had formed a consortium with international players including ASR and Vastned. It is believed that London-based Internos was a member of one of the Dutch consortia but that it later withdrew from the race.
Other names that circulated in the market include LaSalle Investment Management, AEW Europe, Redevco and Union Investment.
Multi, the Amsterdam-based retail real estate arm of US private equity giant Blackstone, also looked at the portfolio, sources told PropertyEU, but withdrew from the bidding at an early stage of the sales process.
