Kildare Partners, a Europe-focused private equity real estate firm, has acquired a 78,000 m2 office portfolio in the Netherlands.
The 'Aqua' portfolio consists of seven office buildings and two car parks. The investment volume was not disclosed, but PropertyEU has established from market sources that it was in the region of €90 mln.
The portfolio was sold by Spes Bona, a company established in 2012 to manage a portion of the assets of bankrupt Dutch commercial landlord Eurocommercial. Spes Bona's holdings are mainly office buildings financed by Rabobank and the bank's subsidiary, FGH.
The largest asset in the Aqua portfolio is WTC Almere, a 31-storey tower totalling 33,000 m2 in Almere, a city located 33 kilometres from Amsterdam. The property is managed by BNP Paribas Real Estate and there is some 19,000 m2 available for rent.
Another Aqua property, split into two buildings, and the two car parks, are also located in Almere. The remaining four assets are located in the cities of Utrecht, Vianen, Deventer and Vlaardingen.
The Gelredome football stadium in the eastern Dutch city of Arnhem is also held by Spes Bona, though it is not part of the sale to Kildare Partners.
Property adviser NL Real Estate and law firm JUR acted for Spes Bona in the transaction, while law firm CMS advised the buyer.
Kildare Parners has been active in the Dutch market for serveral years. In 2014, the private equity firm took control of a Dutch property portfolio, valued at around €800 mln at end-2013, by acquiring the related debt at a 42% discount.
The mixed-use portfolio was owned by the Chalet Group, the investment vehicle of Dutch entrepreneur Marcel Boekhoorn.
Kildare bought the loan - and effectively the underlying assets - from Dutch FGH Bank for a discount of around 42%. The loan was acquired for €430 mln, but is valued at €750 mln in FGH’s books.
Image: WTC Almere
