Malmö-based housing landlord Heimstaden Bostad has agreed to acquire a portfolio of 130 properties comprising a total of 3,902 residential units, 208 commercial units and 321 parking spaces in Berlin, Germany for a total of €830 mln.
The acquisition, which encompasses a total of 282,000 m2 of lettable area, will be financed with debt and equity. It is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020 or first quarter of 2021, subject to merger clearance as well as pre-emption rights held by the municipality of Berlin for a number of properties.
The name of the vendor, based in the UK, was not disclosed.
To better manage the assets, Heimstaden has announced that it is establishing its own in-house property management operations in the city with the recruitment of Caroline Oelmann from Zentral Boden Immobilien.
Oelmann, who also spent four years at Grand City Property, will be looking to build Heimstaden’s local team in the city. The company first entered the German market in 2018 and currently owns 1458 apartments in Germany, mostly located in Berlin..
‘We are pleased to announce the acquisition of attractive properties in central Berlin locations, which enables us to significantly scale up our presence in Germany,’ said Søren Vendelbo Jacobsen, Co-Chief Investment Officer of Heimstaden.
Patrik Hall, CEO of Heimstaden, added: ‘Heimstaden Bostad is a long-term owner with a customer-centred business model. As we now establish local, in-house operations in Berlin, we will have the capacity and competence to provide excellent service to our customers according to Heimstaden's high standards. We are looking forward to working together with political stakeholders and local communities to offer friendly and sustainable homes to the Berlin market.’
Earlier this year the company moved into the Czech market with the takeover of a residential property portfolio owned and operated by Residomo from funds advised by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Round Hill Capital for €1.3 bn.
The package, the largest privately held residential portfolio in the Czech Republic, provides high-quality affordable homes and consists of approximately 4,515 assets with 42,584 residential units and 1,675 commercial units.
Greenberg Traurig acted as legal adviser and CBRE acted as technical adviser to Heimstaden Bostad in the transaction. PMM Group acted as transaction adviser for the seller.
