CBRE Global Investors is in talks on acquiring a stake in a €1.6 bn high street retail portfolio in the Netherlands, PropertyEU has learned.
The portfolio is owned by Amsterdam-based IEF Capital and consists of over 30 department stores across the country 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, the portfolio is valued at €1.6 bn.
Other bidders that were in the running for the portfolio, according to well-informed sources, include a number of 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 It is believed that London-based Internos was a member of one of the Dutch consortia that has now withdrawn from the race.
Other names that have 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, well-informed sources told PropertyEU, but withdrew from the bidding at an early stage of the sales process.
Sources say the portfolio was initially put on the market around 18 months ago, but was withdrawn due to the uncertainty surrounding the future of asset manager Bouwfonds and the subsequent collapse of department store chain V&D in early 2016.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.
Most of the stores are located on prime high street locations in key cities across the country, but the portfolio also has significant development potential.
