Greenman sweeps up 29 German supermarkets in €95m deal

Irish property investor Greenman has bought a portfolio of 29 supermarkets in Germany for €95 mln.

The properties in northern Germany were acquired from upmarket food retailer Edeka, which remains the sole or majority tenant in all the properties, with an average remaining lease term of 15 years.

The properties include three large Fachmarktzentren – small to medium-sized retail parks – with store space of 9,000 m2 or more, which are rented exclusively to Edeka and account for around 41% of the portfolio’s annual rental yields. Greenman is planning to carry out extensive refurbishments and expand existing store space in five smaller centres with a total store space of between 1,000 and 3,000 m2.

Greenman bought the portfolio through its Luxembourg-registered special fund prior to bringing it into its newly created Income ONE fund. WCM Beteiligungs- und Grundbesitz has an option to acquire a majority share of the portfolio.

Since 2011 Dublin-based Greenman has been buying into the German retail property market through Luxembourg SICAV structures as it looks for stable returns. The current deal sees it double its assets under management to €250 mln.

‘This transaction is the result of twelve months of intensive negotiations between Greenman and EDEKA Minden-Hannover,’ said John Wilkinson, CEO of Greenman.

‘We have been able to join forces with an experienced investor in the shape of WCM. We are very optimistic that this will become a successful, long-term partnership.
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Law firm Botterman Khorrami LLP, RBS RoeverBroennerSusat and Epsilon Capital assisted Greenman with the transaction.