Danish pension funds buy three Magasin store properties

Danish institutional investors ATP Ejendomme and PensionDanmark have jointly acquired three Magasin department store properties in Denmark for an undisclosed sum. The buildings, covering a total space of 75,000 m2, are located in the cities of Lyngby, Aarhus and Odense.

The properties were acquired from Magillum Properties and will be managed by ATP Ejendomme. The present tenant, Magasin, is part of the listed UK Debenham Group, which has annual turnover of DKK 22 bn (EUR 2.95 bn).

Although the price was not disclosed, Catella Corporate Finance, which acted as financial adviser to ATP Pension and Pension Denmark on the buying side, claims the transaction was the biggest in Denmark over 2010.

The investment is PensionDanmark’s first in the retail sector. ‘The three department stores all have prime locations and an attractive tenant, and consequently we expect a good return in favour of our members’ pension savings,’ said managing director Torben Möger Pedersen.

‘We see the investment as a good supplement to our existing properties. We also regard the tenant, Magasin/Debenhams, as very solid and we are very pleased with the duration of the tenancy of 25 years,’ noted managing director Michael Nielsen of ATP Ejendomme.

The deal represents PensionDanmark’s first joint property investment with ATP. ‘We hope that the investment co-operation can be further expanded in the coming years with regard to properties, but also infrastructure could be a possibility,’ Pedersen said. ATP Ejendomme’s Danish portfolio amounts to around DKK 11.3 bn, in addition to which it has an exposure of DKK 15.5 bn via international property funds.