Swedish investor Heimstaden has acquired 18 Dutch residential complexes from German REIT Patrizia for €97.4 mln, consolidating its position as the country's third-largest private property owner.
The portfolio, which covers 12 Dutch municipalities, consists of 772 residential units and six commercial units. The residential units include 678 multi-family homes and 94 single-family homes, totalling 53,400 m2 of rental space, alongside the 500 m2 of commercial space.
'This portfolio offers good quality affordable housing in good micro-locations in well-functioning cities, where we are already present or close by, allowing for strong operational efficiencies,' said Mattis Falkentoft, investment manager at Heimstaden.
In March, Heimstaden acquired a sizeable Dutch residential portfolio from Round Hill Capital for €1.4 bn, making the Swedish investor the third-largest private property owner in the Netherlands.
'Following our large acquisition earlier this year, that manifested our dedication to the Dutch residential market, we have been keen to pursue further expansion of our Dutch platform, where we see continued good value in the affordable housing segment,' said Christian Fladeland, chief investment officer of Heimstaden.
Strong Dutch market
'This transaction fits into our ongoing strategy in the Netherlands to reposition our portfolio to focus on the most attractive Dutch cities,' said Emile Poort, head of transactions Benelux at Patrizia.
The assets are located in 12 different Dutch municipalities, including Apeldoorn, Arnhem, Bemmel Deventer, Didam, Dongen, Elst, Hoogeveen, Kampen, Rijssen, Tiel, and Wijchen. Patrizia said that since acquiring the units in 2014, it had optimised their performance through active asset management.
'The current strength of the residential market made this the optimum time to sell these assets and crystallise the value we have created through our active asset management programme, while de-risking our residential portfolio and continuing to maximise returns for our investors,' Poort added.
International interest
Bas Wilberts, head of alternative investment at Savills in the Netherlands, advisors to Patrizia, said: 'This transaction confirms that the Dutch residential property market has become increasingly international.
'Traditionally, the market has been dominated by domestic pension funds and private investors, while cross-border investment has accounted for approximately 30% of the total investment volume. Due to large portfolio transactions, such as the Round Hill portfolio and this sale, the volume of cross-border investment has risen to a record high.
It is now comparable to the logistics market, where foreign capital dominates more than 80% of the investment market.'
The deal follows Patrizia's sale of a portfolio of nine residential properties located in eight different Dutch municipalities, including Dordrecht, Woerden, Beverwijk, Hoorn, Apeldoorn, Beuningen, Ede and Harderwijk on behalf of a client to Woonhave, the Dutch rental property investment fund in May.
Patrizia was advised by Savills (commercial and technical), Loyens & Loeff (legal), SGS Search (environmental).
Immo Finance (commercial and financial) and Loyens & Loeff (legal) acted on behalf of Heimstaden.
