GSW closes purchase of EUR 330m Gagfah portfolio

GSW Immobilien, the German housing firm which went public earlier this year, has completed the purchase of 4,800 apartments for EUR 330 mln from Gagfah, the largest listed residential property owner in Germany.

GSW paid 34% of the investment volume in cash and the remaining in bank debt.

Most of the assets are located in the Berlin districts of Kreuzberg (35%), Zehlendorf, Charlottenburg and Potsdam (39%), and Spandau (26%). The apartments have an average actual rent of EUR 5.58 per m² per month and a vacancy rate of 2.8%.

'The newly acquired portfolio is an attractive addition to our existing housing stock. Its positive effect is that it increases the average rent in our overall portfolio and the additions expand our previous location focuses in Berlin in an optimal way,' commented GSW acquisitions chief Jörg Schwagenscheidt. 'We expect the new acquisition to make a long-term positive contribution to our results,' added Schwagenscheidt.

GSW first announced in September that it was buying the portfolio in a share deal which allowed it not to pay stamp duty. GSW is funding the purchase with the EUR 115 mln of the proceeds raised through its IPO in April.