London AIM-listed investor Globalworth has confirmed its position as the leading investor in Romanian real estate with the acquisition of a light industrial complex in a deal valued at €35 mln.
London AIM-listed investor Globalworth has confirmed its position as the leading investor in Romanian real estate with the acquisition of a light industrial complex in a deal valued at €35 mln.
Some €18 mln of the consideration is the upfront acquisition cost for Timisoara Airport Park (TAP), with the remainder to be spent on the development of the various phases of the project. Closing of the transaction is expected to take place in the next few weeks.
Colliers International acted for the vendor, asset and development manager Invest4SEE. The sale represented the largest logistics investment transaction by volume in Romania for five years.
TAP
TAP is located close to Timisoara's Traian Vuia International Airport. The industrial property is partially developed, with Valeo, a multinational corporate operating in the automotive industry, and Continental, the German car parts and tyre manufacturer, having let or pre-let 72,835 m2 of light industrial space.
Both companies have the option to develop additional facilities in the property. Assuming the exercise of these options, TAP will offer a total gross leasable area of 113,340 m2, making it one of the largest industrial parks in the country.
Valeo currently occupies 27,470 m2 of light industrial space in the property which was completed in 2011, while Continental has pre-let 45,360 m2 of light industrial space which is expected to be delivered in March 2015.
Timisoara is the second-largest city in Romania by population, situated in the western part of the country, and represents an important social, economic and educational centre. The close proximity of Timisoara to the western border with Hungary and Serbia has positioned it as one of the main logistics sub-markets of Romania, attracting a number of international companies, especially in the automotive and IT&T sectors.
BIG SPENDER
Globalworth was founded by Greek billionaire investor-developer Ioannis Papalekas to take advantage of investment opportunities in Romania and the broader SEE and CEE regions. The company is registered as a closed-end collective investment scheme by the Guernsey FSC. Its shares were admitted to trading on the junior AIM exchange in July 2013.
During the first half of 2014, Globalworth carried out the largest property deals in Romania in some years by acquiring the BOB & BOC office complex, plus 446 residential and 25 retail units in the Underground Towers scheme, for €210 mln. In another deal, Globalworth purchased the Tower Center International office complex in the Romanian capital for €58 mln.
The €268 mln spend on these two deals made Globalworth the largest investor in the first half of 2014 given the total estimated volume for Romania in the period of between €369 mln (CBRE) and €431 mln (JLL). The TAP deal reinforces Globalworth's position in the market.
Globalworth reported that its property assets were valued at €391 mln by the end of the first quarter of 2014. In March the company announced it was seeking to raise €200 mln for new acquisitions. Of the target amount, €95 mln was committed by York Capital Management Global Advisors and Oak Hill Advisors (Europe). A further €25 mln was committed by Papalekas.