Invista Real Estate Investment Management said on Friday that Celsius, its 50-50 joint venture with Propinvest, has completed the sale of a property portfolio in France to real estate firm Clerical Medical for about EUR 170mln. The transaction amount consists of EUR 168mln in cash and EUR 2mln in assumed liabilities.
Invista Real Estate Investment Management said on Friday that Celsius, its 50-50 joint venture with Propinvest, has completed the sale of a property portfolio in France to real estate firm Clerical Medical for about EUR 170mln. The transaction amount consists of EUR 168mln in cash and EUR 2mln in assumed liabilities.
Celsius plans to use the proceeds to pay off senior debt taken out when it bought the portfolio in May 2007. The company added that it is currently in discussions with its bankers regarding the refinancing of the remainder of the senior debt within the company.
The portfolio consists of 23 assets located across France. The properties generate an annual income of EUR 10mln.
Clerical Medical is part of the Halifax Bank of Scotland Group and, given HBOS's 55% shareholding in Invista, the sale by Invista is considered to be a related party transaction.
'Celsius owns a diverse portfolio of high-quality assets across France and the portfolio's value has continued to hold up well. The transaction is a clear demonstration of Invista delivering its stated strategy of deploying funds raised at Initial Public Offering in assets and then successfully recycling those assets for the benefit of client funds. This process also develops further recurring revenue streams for Invista,' CEO Duncan Owen said.
