International real estate firm Hines and German investment company Universal-Investment have purchased five retail assets in Copenhagen on behalf of their €1.3 bn separate account with German pension investor Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK).
The vendor was London-based Avignon Capital.
The €119 mln deal represents the first Danish acquisition for the BVK mandate and its seventh purchase overall. It also marks Hines entry into Denmark.
'Located in Central Copenhagen in strong retail destinations and let to high profile international and domestic retailers, this latest purchase will complement the BVK holdings across Europe. We are excited by the opportunity to deliver value-add creation through the redevelopment of parts of the portfolio,' commented Peter Epping, managing director – investment management for Hines Europe and fund manager for the BVK account.
Comprising five prime retail assets combining 11,700 m2 in the city's shopping heart, the portfolio includes three properties on prime pedestrian street Købmagergade, plus two assets in the historic retail precint, the Strøget. The assets are over 80% occupied, with a mix of international and domestic retail tenants including Superdry, Benetton, Matas, Synoptik and Sand, whilst the office component is leased to the Danish Government.
'Since winning the BVK mandate this time last year, Hines has acquired a number of high-quality retail assets in prime locations on high streets across European territories including France, Milan, the UK and Norway. We are excited to now enter the Danish market and the teams remain focused on making this strategy a continued success,' said Lars Huber, CEO of Hines Europe.
'German institutional investors favor steady returns. Therefore, the Nordic countries offer interesting opportunities as their economies show a stable and positive development,' added Alexander Tannenbaum, managing director of Universal-Investment.
Capital Investment will continue to act as property manager for the portfolio on behalf of Hines.
Cushman and Wakefield and Red Property Advisors advised on the acquisition.
'International investors are increasingly attracted to Denmark and the Nordic region in general as an appealing, transparent, low-risk environment with competitive financing but also very interesting compelling growth dynamics,' said James Lombard from Cushman & Wakefield’s EMEA Capital Markets team. 'While Sweden has historically led the way for liquidity in the region, the other Nordic countries are catching up fast and with numerous political events happening in Europe during 2017, the Nordic region stands out as a safe investment.'
Avignon Capital is a European Property Investment and Asset Management business based on Margaret Street in London's West End. Avignon's core markets are the UK, Germany, Nordics and Spain. Avignon’s clients include private investors, family offices and the listed Cubic Property Fund. Avignon’s AUM came to €650 mln, with 103 properties across five countries in its portfolio, at the end of Q3 2016.
